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Ontario's COVID-19 protocols could be 'gone' after Step 3 ends, Premier Doug Ford teases

Ontario's COVID-19 protocols could be 'gone' after Step 3 ends, Premier Doug Ford teases

As vaccines continue to be administered in Ontario, premier Doug Ford teased what the next stage of reopening, after Step 3, could look like across the province.

"Dr. [Kieran] Moore will be rolling that out very shortly," Ford said at a press conference on Monday.

"The protocols, or most of them, they’re gone to the exception of maybe a few he may want to keep in place. For the most part, everyone’s worked hard and we’re going to move beyond this and start working on the economy."

The premier also stressed that children will be going back to school this fall, even if he was to "drive the bus" himself.

When asked about mandating COVID-19 vaccination in the province, for healthcare workers, teachers or the Ontario population more broadly, Ford maintained that it won't be happening in the province.

"I just don’t believe in forcing anyone to get a vaccination that doesn’t want it," he said, adding that he also does not support a vaccine certificate for local use.

To date, about 70 per cent of Ontario's population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, around 80 per cent of the eligible population. Ontario reported 119 new COVID-19 cases on Monday and three deaths.