Doug Ford says the COVID curve is going down but people don't believe him
It may feel like the COVID-19 pandemic is out of control in Ontario, with daily case numbers coming in at record-high levels and many businesses closed, but Premier Doug Ford suggested Wednesday that there's reason to have hope.
"Dr. Brown will be out tomorrow, and putting out information that we see the curve going down, which is great news," said Ford during his daily pandemic press of Dr. Adalsteinn Brown, Dean of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto and one of his key medical advisors.
The premier went on to thank "everyone in Ontario, all 14.5 million people" for "doing a great job" in following public health recommendations and bringing infection rates down.
"I give all the credit to the people out there," he said, "but we can't let our guard down. Just because we see it sloping down a little bit, it doesn't mean we let our guard down."
Has anyone on Doug Ford’s team checked the data pages he’s been reviewing? It’s possible he’s looking at testing curve that is steadily declining 😳
— Bill 🎃'Leary (@talk2oleary) October 28, 2020
However, if testing continues to decline he’s right about the confirmed case numbers dropping. @fordnation
But is the curve really sloping? Ontario residents and physicians who've been following case trends are confused.
It certainly doesn't look like the number of new cases logged each day is going down by any significant amount, at least not in the past seven days.
It's quite possible, however, as one reporter noted during today's press conference, that Ford has seen modelling data not yet available to the public.
When asked to clarify if he has seen evidence to suggest the curve is flattening, Ford said that he "wouldn't go as far as [saying] flattening," but that "we see it going in the right direction."
Does he mean the testing curve? ಠ_ಠ https://t.co/KQolauzpq1 pic.twitter.com/VMei7WgK04
— Dr. Jennifer Kwan (@jkwan_md) October 28, 2020
"That's really positive, and it's put me in a good mood today," said Ford of whatever intel he's basing his assertions on.
"I'm always in a good mood, but today it tells me people are listening," continued the premier. "Everyone is really, really doing a great job."
Be that as it may, Ford was quick to caution that nothing is for certain, referencing the period of time before a massive surge in case numbers threw Toronto, Peel and Ottawa back into a modified version of Stage 2 lockdown.
We should know more tomorrow, when Dr. Brown is expected to reveal what's making the premier so dang giddy.
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