Toronto has been in some form of lockdown since the end of November thanks to rising case numbers and the subsequent strain on the healthcare system, and yet COVID-19 indicators have yet to show signs of improvement. 

On Monday, Jan. 11, for example, Ontario confirmed 3,338 cases new cases of the virus province-wide, with 931 of those infections in Toronto.

Ontario is reporting 3,338 cases of #COVID19 and over 46,400 tests completed. Locally, there are 931 new cases in Toronto, 531 in Peel, 241 in York Region, 168 in Niagara and 165 in Waterloo.

— Christine Elliott (@celliottability) January 11, 2021

As a result, the province is currently working on a plan to introduce even more public health measures in addition to those already included in the province-wide shutdown.

Those measures are expected to be considered by the Ford cabinet at a meeting tonight, followed by an official announcement tomorrow.

There has been much speculation about what these new measures could entail and whether or not Ontario will follow Quebec's lead in introducing a curfew, but senior government sources confirmed to multiple outlets Monday that Tuesday's announcement would not include a curfew for the province.

Toronto Mayor John Tory had previously expressed some support for a curfew prior to this confirmation, though he also mentioned a number of other restrictions he'd like to see put in place during an interview with CP24 Monday morning. 

"If you said to me that short of a curfew you had to put more hours of restrictions on when you could get food, I would be perfectly comfortable with that," said Tory.

In addition to potential new restrictions on food purchasing, Tory said there are a number of businesses currently permitted to operate amid the shutdown that he believes could and should be shut down, including big box stores.

"Number one are big box stores," he said. "I never understood for the life of me that if we were going to close down small retail, and say you couldn't go in those stores and they couldn't be open except for curbside pickup, and thank heavens for at least that, I never understood that. If we're going to say retail is closed, then it is closed."

Tory also said banks could also easily be shuttered and residents could instead use online banking. 

"I think we need to go through a period where pretty much everything is closed like the spring," said Tory. "I wasn't happy but we got through it and it worked because people stayed home because everything was closed."

But whatever the province decides to do, Tory said they should do it fast. 

"Every day puts more strain on the healthcare system," he said, "and frankly gets more people sick."