Ontario’s chief medical officer ‘strongly urging’ law restricting movements of COVID-19 patients

Ontario's chief medical officer is "strongly urging" his local public health counterparts to invoke a law allowing them to order COVID-19 patients and their contacts into quarantine.

The powers in the communicable disease section of the Health Protection and Promotion Act can be used to ensure cases and contacts of people with the new coronavirus are "isolated," said Dr. David Williams.

"This is one more tool in the public health tool kit we're asking public health units to use to stop the spread of COVID-19 and flatten the curve," Williams added in a statement.

"We must do more given the ongoing and increasing evidence of community transmission across the province."

To this point, 14-day self-isolation for confirmed or suspected cases has been voluntary, and relied on trusting those people to not leave their homes or meet with others for any reason.

As the statement went out from Williams, Toronto Public Health chief Dr. Eileen de Villa signalled she is taking these steps, fearing that the progression of cases in Toronto is escalating dangerously, and attempting to avoid the devastating scenario unfolding in New York City.

Williams said the powers should see local public health units "implement more aggressive contract tracing and management" of COVID-19 cases.

Section 22 of the health act states that health units can use written orders to "require a person to take or to refrain from taking any action that is specified in the order in respect of a communicable disease " to decrease or eliminate the risk to health."

Under the health protection law, health units can require anyone named in an order to submit to medical examinations. They can also close off all or part of any premises involved.

A Toronto Star compilation of the latest number of confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 reported by public health units puts the tally to date at about 2,500 with at least 60 deaths.

Provincial public health officials have been slower to acknowledge community spread of COVID-19 than their local and federal counterparts, which have been issuing more explicit warnings about it.

The Ontario government has also limited public gatherings to a maximum of five people, aside from businesses deemed essential.

Rob Ferguson is a Toronto-based reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter: @robferguson1