Sarnia Moved to Green Phase of New Framework for COVID-19 Mitigation

The Province of Ontario transitioned this week to the Keeping Ontario Safe and Open Framework. There are five levels in the Framework: Green – Prevent, Yellow – Protect, Orange – Restrict, Red – Control, and the most extreme level, Lockdown, which is reserved as a last resort.

Officials hope this new Framework will introduce preventative measures for controlling the spread of COVID-19 earlier, therefore limiting transmission of the virus and preventing broad closures.

“The framework lays out a proactive and graduated response to be applied based on the local situation in each region,” said Dr. David Williams, Chief Medical Officer of Health. “By working with the medical officers of health and local authorities on the realities and situations of COVID-19, we want to continue to help protect people’s health and wellbeing. We are adapting the public health measures to be as targeted and efficient as possible to stop the spread of the virus, while managing any outbreaks as quickly as possible.”

The Sarnia Lambton area is in the Green – Prevent stage of the Framework. The key risk factors of potential transmission are close contact, closed spaces, crowded places, forceful exhalation, and prolonged exposure. While in the Green-Prevent stage, Ontarians are advised to observe standard measures for protecting themselves from COVID-19 including frequent hand-washing, social distancing, and face coverings.

Read the Framework <HERE>.

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand