Medical officer of health recommends moving Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph into 'red' zone

Dr. Nicola Mercer, the chief medical officer of health for Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph, has recommended the region be moved into the "red control"zone of the province's COVID-19 response framework.

Currently, the area is in the orange zone, but "a significant and troubling" rise in the number of cases and hospitalizations in the public health unit over the past week led Mercer to make the recommendation to Dr. David Williams, Ontario's chief medical officer of health, said a news release Wednesday afternoon.

"I want to tell every resident of our region in the strongest possible terms, that COVID-19 is spreading very quickly in our community. The rate at which cases continue to grow especially in the last few days requires immediate action,"said Dr. Mercer.

The decision still needs to be approved by cabinet. If approved it would beannounced on Friday and take effect on Monday, Dec. 14.

• What red zone rules would mean for Wellington Dufferin Guelph

While a move from less to more severe restrictions can be done rather quickly it has happened in just a week in some public health units it takes significantly more time to move back down the colour-coded ladder, easing restrictions.

If the area moves into red on Dec. 14, new restrictions will be in place for 28 days.The earliest Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph could return to the orange zone would be Monday, Jan. 11, 2021.