People in Ontario are thanking Doug Ford but not for the reason you'd expect
It's pretty safe to say that constituents in Ontario are not fans of Premier Doug Ford these days as the provincial government continues to, in many people's eyes, completely mismanage the COVID-19 crisis.
Between incessant lockdowns that areextreme enough to ruin livesbut not enoughto actually curb virus transmissionwhere needed, to an embarrassingly sluggish andconfusing-as-hell vaccine rollout最近几个月,福特并没有获得很多球迷,though he has relinquished much of his responsibility to the health officials on his team.
thanks doug.#fridaymorning#ontariolockdown#Ontario#FordfailedOntariopic.twitter.com/C8tcesf9Ic
— RawSports (@RawSportsand)April 16, 2021
As the province finishes up its first week ofanother full shutdownmore than a year afterour first one— witheven more restrictions on the way today— the COVID fatigue has set in, as has a feeling of general disapproval of the current leadership.
And while health experts call for more public health restrictions andbusinesses are protesting existing ones, "thanks Doug" has been trending on Twitter, giving residents a way to publicly air their grievances.
I can’t believe I’m saying this but I am literally willing to hunker down AGAIN with the tightest restrictions, AS LONG AS WE DONT HAVE TO KEEP DOING THIS.
— (@ishchaw)April 16, 2021
Also, please get those vaccines out of storage ASAP like jeez
Thanks Doug
#COVID19ON#COVIDEmergency
Major pain points include our lack of accessible vaccines as other countries swiftly and smoothlyget needles into the arms of much of their population, as well as the constant oscillation between reopening and locking down — like when grey zones recently got to open patios after more than three months just to have to shutter themwithin two weeks.
Some are also speculating about what the major announcement coming from Ford on Friday afternoon could be, anticipating things as heavy-handed and draconian as a curfew or as necessary as further restrictions on parts of the economy, like inhigh outbreak settings如有限公司nstruction sites and factories.
Curfew? Probably not, don’t want to upset the people
— Katherine Hunt (@meow173)April 16, 2021
Construction closed? Nope the lobbyists squashed that idea...
So who exactly is in charge, who makes the decisions, and why aren’t the medical and scientific personnel doing that?! Thanks Doug#COVID19ON#onpoli#COVID19pic.twitter.com/rD9YHd3zqm
As has been the case for some time, the frustration and division is only growing progressively more palpable as we face the prospect of a summer in full lockdown, while some of us have effectively already been in the strictest form of the Doug's "lockdown" — save for thosetwo weeks of patiosandmonth of non-essential retail— since Nov. 23.
Some businesses have been closedfor even longer.
This last lockdown was too little too late, Thanks Doug. Can we get some protections for the essential workers you sent out to risk their health now? Can we support the small business owners who's income has been reduced to nothing? Can you do something right?#VoteFordOut2022
— Bomb4stic (@Bomb4sticThe)April 16, 2021
At this point, many people seem to think more restrictions are too little, too late, and are also misdirected efforts when officials should be focusing on ramping up vaccine procurement and distribution —and making the process of getting a vaccine easier to navigate — and focusing measures on the areas of the economy that are still freely operating.
But despite all the negativity from a population that is at its wit's end and perhaps its mental breaking point, there are some who feel for the very difficult position that the premier has been put in, with citizens demanding all types of conflicting action from both sides.
Thanks Doug. I know that this has been hard, and even with the strictest measures in the world you are damned if you do, and damned if you don't. You probably have the most difficult job in the world right now and I'm sure the weight of worries are being felt. Chin up.
— i__am__JIP ©️ (@i__am__JIP)April 16, 2021
Ford will be making his announcement about additional pandemic measures Friday at 2:30 p.m., less than two weeks after the province was plunged into a full emergency shutdown and just over one week sincea stay-at-home order was implemented.
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