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Ontario modifies COVID-19 colour-coding system after projections of up to 7,000 daily cases by end of December its colour-coded system for public health unit regions and moving additional health units into more restrictive levels. Premier Doug Ford made the announcement on Friday afternoon (November 13) at a media conference along with health minister Christine Elliott and Ontario's chief medical officer of health Dr. David Williams. "Yesterday, our top doctors and health experts provided us with updated modelling, and what we saw was alarming," Ford said. "If we don't take action, if we don't change course in a big way, Ontario's on track for 6,500 new cases per day." "That's 6,500 more people who will catch this awful virus each and every day, and based on current projections, intensive care units could be overwhelmed in six weeks. The impact on our hospitals would be absolutely devastating. As Premier, I can't accept that and I won't accept that." For each of the five levels in its colour-coded system, the government will be lowering the thresholds that determine when a public health unit is moved into a more restrictive level. Since it released the colour-coded system on November 3rd, the government has been criticized that the thresholds were set at too high a level. With the November 13th announcement, the thresholds will be lowered for weekly incidence rates, positivity rate, effective reproductive number (Rt), outbreak trends, and the level of community transmission. As a result, the public health units for Toronto, Hamilton, Halton, and York will move into the Red-Control level. Brant County, Durham, Eastern Ontario Health Unit, Niagara, Wellington-Dufferin- Guelph, and Waterloo will move into the Orange-Restrict level. Huron Perth, Middlesex-London, Sudbury, Southwestern Public Health, and Windsor- Essex will move into the Yellow-Protect level. The changes take effect at 12:01 a.m. on Monday (November 16), except for Toronto, which will move into the Red-Control level at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday (November 14). The remaining health units in Ontario, including the three health units in the greater Kawarthas region (Peterborough Public Health, Hastings and Prince Edward Counties Public Health, and Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit), remain in the Green-Prevent level. 2/6