Ontario [Canada], January 21 (ANI/Sputnik): Ontario will begin easing restrictions that have been in place to stop the spread the Omicron variant, with certain limits slated to be lifted on January 31, Premier Doug Ford said in a press conference Thursday.

"Businesses return to 50 per cent capacity on Jan 31," Ford said. "Arenas, concert venues and theatres are capped at 500. Moreover, indoor social gatherings of up to 10 people and outdoors gatherings of up to 25 will be permitted. If trends remain stable or improve, Ontario will move to the next step on Feb 21 and then March 14."The per cent positive has now dropped to 15.9 per cent, Ford added, while new admissions to hospitals are starting to slow.

"And the health system workforce is stabilizing with more people coming back to work than calling in sick. As I said, when necessary, additional measures were always intended to be time-limited. They were one more tool to blunt the spread of Omicron and protect our hospitals," he said.

Ford said health and government officials are easing restrictions because the evidence indicates that previous measures have been working. He also said officials expect recent trends to continue as Omicron cases peak this month.

But Ford also added that officials are proceeding cautiously and judiciously, tempering their confidence with the realization of how far the province has come and knowing that "we're not out of the woods yet." He said the coming weeks will continue to pose real challenges to hospitals, but said he expects hospital staff to manage those challenges. (ANI/Sputnik)