Niagara's top doctor thinks Ontario should stay in lockdown for another month.
Acting Medical Officer of Health Dr. Mustafa Hirji tells CKTB he would like to see the province's stay-at-home order extended into mid-June to allow case numbers to fall, and vaccination rates to spike.
Hirji believes by mid-June Ontario will be at a vaccination rate of 75% rather than the current 40%.
The current order is in place until May 19th, but there are reports suggesting it will be extended into early June.
Hirji believes schools may reopen prior to the order being lifted. He says there is still a reasonable chance children will return at the end of the month or early June.
"Opening schools first will let us see how that will impact the reproductive number."
Niagara's teachers and school staff have received their first dose of the vaccine.
Numbers today show encouraging trends locally and across Ontario.
75 new infections were reported today in Niagara, marking the third day of daily cases under the 100 mark.
Ontario is reporting just over 2,716 new COVID-19 cases today.
That total marks the lowest number reported over a 24-hour period since April 1st, however 19 new deaths were reported.