Reach out and touch…up to nine others

Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced Friday, June 12, that public health guidelines for the COVID-19 pandemic were being relaxed to allow everyone to have a “social circle’ of up to 10 persons in total that they could feel free to touch and hug, ignoring physical distancing.

He said that would allow families and friends to re-unite, and to have close contact with each other again, even if they don’t reside in the same home, such as grandchildren hugging grandparents.

Health Minister Christine Elliot noted, though, that such social circles needed to be exclusive. A person could and should only be in one circle, not multiple circles.

She also said that the social circles were different from another change that went into effect as well on Friday.

Ontarians could participate in social gatherings of up to 10 persons from outside their homes, up from the previous five, she said, but for those had to continue to maintain physical distancing and other pandemic precautions.