The prospect of reopening northern or rural parts of the provincial economy that have not been impacted as hard by COVID-19 being ruled out by Ontario government.

THUNDER BAY - While Northern Ontario has not seen the same level of COVID-19 cases as other parts of the province, the provincial government said that does not mean things will return to normal any quicker in the north.

During Premier Doug Ford’s daily media briefing, he was asked if rural and northern parts of the province hit less hard by the COVID-19 pandemic may see the economy reopen sooner than Southern Ontario.

“We are dealing with almost two different worlds,” Ford said. “You have the urban and the rural areas. But we are all connected. The problem with that, and I actually agree with what you are saying, we just can’t risk someone in Toronto going up north.”

There are more than 13,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ontario and 798 deaths. In the Northwestern Ontario there are 60 confirmed cases in the Thunder Bay district and one death and 16 reported cases by the Northwestern Health Unit.

On a provincial level, new modeling data released earlier this week showed a possible flattening of the curve in terms of community spread. Though numbers continued to rise in long-term care facilities.

Despite the number of cases in the Northwest accounting for a small percentage of total cases in the province, reopening parts of the economy can still create risks.

Minister of Finance Rob Philips said the province is working on a plan for reopening the economy that will be released next week, but it will be at a provincial level, not a regional one.

“We will be releasing the framework that will speak to those very questions,” he said. “We are experiencing in the suburban and urban areas different realities of community transmission than we are in rural areas. The concerns are the movement of people. People could move, and maybe be incented to move, based on lifted restrictions."

Saskatchewan, which only has 331 confirmed cases of COVID-19, was the first province to release plans for reopening the economy. Philips said every province will be different and the plans will be based the unique needs and experiences of Ontario.

“As you will see, Saskatchewan to their credit are further ahead in terms of their COVID issues,” Philips said. “This is an issue that all provinces are going to be needing to consider based on the size and scope.”

Ford has repeatedly said that reopening the economy of Ontario will be a slow and gradual process and needs to be monitored closely for a resurgence of infections.

“The health and safety of Ontario must come first,” Ford said.

- TBNewswatch