Doctor group backs lockdown but also wants outdoor recreation

Association highlights importance of activity to physical, mental health

An Ontario physicians’ group is recommending outdoor recreational activities like golf be reopened, with appropriate safety guidelines in place.

The Ontario Medical Association (OMA), which represents more than 43,000 physicians, medical students and retired doctors, released a statement Wednesday saying it is too soon for the province’s stay-at-home order to be lifted, but some outdoor recreation should resume, with proper safety measures in place.

The association underlined the importance of reopening outdoor recreational facilities such as golf courses, basketball and tennis courts in improving “people’s physical and mental health.”

“This needs to be done safely and with clear guidelines around when to wear masks and how many people can gather to avoid large COVID-spreading events on the May 24 long weekend,” the association said in the statement.

“We all want the third wave to be the last wave,” OMA president Dr. Samantha Hill said.

The medical association’s statement comes a day after Ontario Solicitor General Sylvia Jones reinforced that golf courses will remain closed as long as there is a stay-at-home order in the province.

While Ontario’s science advisory table of doctors and epidemiologists has insisted outdoor sports are safe, “The science table also was very clear that they did not want people to be moving around, to be transmitting through movement between regions, communities,” Jones said.

“We don’t have a golf course at the end of every street, so we have to make sure that people continue to understand that the stay-at-home order is in to avoid unnecessary movement,” Jones added.

“The idea of restricting mobility was not intended to be extended to things that are safe,” David Struthers, a spokesperson for Golf Ontario, told the Star in an interview.

“The act of getting to and from a golf course is no different than going to a Costco or another grocery store,” he added.