TORONTO -- Although provinces across the country have already begun lifting lockdown measures in varying degrees, public health officials continue to prescribe diligent handwashing and persistent physical distancing in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19.

But last weekend鈥檚 warm weather, along with the of various city parks and amenities, made it difficult for residents in Ontario to keep their distance from one another. This set the scene for a busy Saturday afternoon at Toronto's Trinity Bellwoods Park, where were gathered.

鈥淚 only looked at a few of the photos and I actually thought they must鈥檝e been stock photos from before the pandemic,鈥 Kerry Bowman, bioethicist and professor at the University of Toronto, told CTVNews.ca over the phone on Monday. 鈥淭hey looked like something you鈥檇 see last summer.鈥

Bowman says part of the reason for this behaviour lies in something called "isolation fatigue," which he describes as a psychologically-based restlessness. Some people, he explains, have had enough of being physically isolated and want to begin interacting with the outside world again.

鈥淲e seem to be at a bit of a tipping point where people have been isolated for so long that they really want to get out there,鈥 he said. 鈥淎s we reached about the nine or ten-week point, people began to feel satiated, and that鈥檚 lining up with warm weather.鈥

Bowman describes what is known as the optimal arousal theory 鈥 the idea that people continuously need something to look forward to. The problem with this, he says, is that the longer lockdown measures are in place, the greater the chances that rules such as maintaining physical distance will be broken.

鈥淗aving things to look forward to is a natural human process that we all live by 鈥 the anticipation of events are very psychologically important to all of us,鈥 he explained. 鈥淏efore all this, potentially you had a dinner on a weekend [or] a vacation coming up鈥ll of that鈥檚 fallen off 鈥 you don鈥檛 even have a sports game you can watch anymore.鈥

According to a , the City of Toronto received 167 complaints related to park use and physical distancing on May 22 鈥 a figure described as 鈥渁 notable increase鈥 compared to what the city has seen in recent weeks.

Officers forming part of Toronto鈥檚 COVID-19 Enforcement Team were said to have witnessed 鈥渦nruly behaviour鈥 in the form of public intoxication and crowding. According to the city, additional officers were deployed to parks where these behaviours were prevalent, including Trinity Bellwoods.

But this was not enough to stop thousands from congregating at the well-known public park. The behaviour prompted commentary from several government and health officials who voiced their concern.

Late Saturday night, Toronto Mayor John Tory , 鈥淚t鈥檚 unfortunate and extremely disappointing that so many gathered in Trinity Bellwoods to flaunt the advice of our public health professionals.鈥

In , the mayor explained those at the park were 鈥減utting their own health at risk鈥 and could be responsible for 鈥渢he kind of setback we are trying hard to avoid.鈥

Toronto鈥檚 Medical Officer of Health Dr. Eileen de Villa also addressed the actions taken by numerous residents over the weekend, calling it 鈥渄angerous鈥 and 鈥渟elfish鈥 .

While Bowman acknowledges that the behaviour can be seen as selfish, he holds short of calling it that himself.

This behaviour, he says, is tied to a social contract between the people and government leaders. He points to the possibility that leaders may not be holding up their end of the bargain when it comes to putting in place further measures to address the ongoing spread of COVID-19.

鈥淐anadians and Ontarians have given up a lot in terms of personal freedom and a lot of people鈥檚 lives have been really gutted by this, financially and socially,鈥 he explained. 鈥淥ur [provincial] leadership has really not held up with their end of the bargain in terms of using this time to get up to speed on extensive testing [and] contact tracing.

鈥淚鈥檓 not justifying what happened at Trinity Bellwoods鈥ut I cannot help but wonder if people don鈥檛 see this as a fair contract.鈥

He describes Ontario鈥檚 response to the pandemic thus far as 鈥渁 system that鈥檚 really not working well.鈥 Government officials in Ontario, for example, only recently indicated that it was taking steps to develop . While the province is encouraging residents to get tested for COVID-19, it has .

Part of the solution involves putting these measures in place, says Bowman, as well as making more public space available to residents. He points specifically to opening up public access to areas near High Park and Lakeshore.

鈥淚 think what people did is absolutely and categorically wrong, there鈥檚 no question about it,鈥 he said. 鈥淏ut I also think our leaders have to consider the social realities that we鈥檙e living in under this pandemic.鈥

Bowman explains it鈥檚 likely that so many people congregated in Trinity Bellwoods Park because they had nowhere else to go. He says that if the city had made more public space available for people to go on walks or have picnics, this likely would have meant fewer people in this one park alone.

鈥淚t wouldn't have prevented this but it may have contributed in a positive way to reduce the numbers of [people at Trinity Bellwoods Park],鈥 he said. 鈥淚 think a greater focus on open public spaces would have really helped.鈥

With regards to the future, Bowman says he is weary of what鈥檚 to come, especially as the number of COVID-19 cases in Ontario continues to climb.

On Sunday, the province 鈥 the fourth day in a row where number have been above 400.

鈥淲hat that means is at least in the more populated provinces, the increased opening up is going to be delayed because the numbers are not getting better,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t could鈥檝e been a couple of weeks 鈥 it鈥檚 now likely going to be at least a month.

鈥淲e鈥檝e got to figure this out and I鈥檓 hoping Trinity Bellwoods [Park] will be a wakeup call.鈥