Ontarians cleared to expand social circles beyond their immediate households to a total of 10 people

FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2020. 1:05 PM EDT

https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/06/12/coronavirus-covid-19-updates-canada-toronto-june-12.html

1:00 p.m.: Ontarians have been cleared to expand social circles beyond their immediate households to a total of 10 people – complete with hugging and kissing if you’re in the mood.

But cheating with anyone outside your bubble is a no-no, health officials said Friday, urging people to maintain physical distancing otherwise to minimize the chances of catching COVID-19.

New guidelines stress that “no one should be part of more than one circle” as restrictions are relaxed to reduce isolation in the pandemic and make life more tolerable.

“We wouldn’t want people to go out and create a circle that changed every day,” a senior health official said during a briefing on the measures.

Keeping a tight circle makes it easier to do contact tracing if one or more members falls ill with COVID-19 – in which case everyone would have to self-isolate.

The change allows for grandparents, for example, to help mind young ones while their moms or dads are busy working or for adult children to help take care of aging parents still in their own homes.

Read the full story from the Star’s Rob Ferguson here.