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2/10 Ontario's enhanced restrictions were always intended to stop large gatherings where spread can happen. Our regulations will be amended to allow playgrounds but gatherings outside will still be enforced. Play outside safely. Parents keep your distance & wear masks if you can't. -- Doug Ford (@fordnation) April 17, 2021 The government is also expected to scale back new powers given to police to stop pedestrians and drivers to ask them why they are not staying at home, after widespread criticism and statements from many police forces across Ontario that their officers would not be using these powers. Meanwhile, the third wave of the pandemic continues to sweep across Ontario with another 4,362 new cases reported today. The seven-day average of daily cases has increased by 78 to a new record high of 4,370. Toronto is reporting 1,162 new cases and 9 other health units are reporting triple-digit increases. There are now 32,327 cases of the B.1.1.7 UK variant in Ontario, an increase of 2,152 from yesterday, with 2 more cases of the B.1.351 South Africa variant and 5 more cases of the P.1 Brazilian variant. The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 is now over 2,000 with more than 700 patients in ICUs and more than 500 patients on ventilators. In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 38 new cases and an additional 69 cases resolved, with the number of active cases decreasing by 31 to 417. See below for detailed numbers from each regional health unit. Most of today's new cases are in Toronto (1,162), Peel (936), York (430), Durham (301), Ottawa (251), Hamilton (211), Niagara (151), Halton (144), Middlesex-London (117), and Simcoe Muskoka (114). There are double-digit increases today in Waterloo (84), Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (72), Windsor-Essex (70), Brant (46), Eastern Ontario (44), Haldimand-Norfolk (37), Porcupine (31), Grey Bruce (29), Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (25), Leeds, Grenville & Lanark (18), Southwestern (15), Hastings Prince Edward (16), Sudbury (13), Peterborough (12), and Northwestern (10), with smaller increases in Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington (9), Thunder Bay (7), and Lambton (6). The remaining 6 health units are reporting 5 or fewer new cases, with 2 health units (North Bay Parry Sound and Renfrew) reporting no new cases at all. Of today's new cases, 55% are among people 39 and younger, with the highest number of cases (1,632) among people ages 20-39 followed by 1,288 cases among people ages 40-59 and 749 cases among people 19 and under. https://twitter.com/fordnation/status/1383498997092941834?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw