Ontario Premier Doug Ford has issued a stay-at-home order to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
The newly announced measures will go into effect jat 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, April 8th and will last four-weeks.
Ford says with a few exceptions the stay-at-home order will be similar to what we saw this year.
Non-essential retail will go back to curbside pick-up and delivery from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Big box stores will be allowed to remain open but are restricted to only sell essential items.
Residential evictions will also be suspended.
Daily COVID-19 case counts in the province have been near or above the 3,000 mark for almost a week.
Over 2.7 million vaccines have been administered in Ontario with 1.5 million appointments booked.
Ford says the reality is, despite everything they’ve done so far, the situation is getting worse in Ontario. He adds that hospitals are reaching capacity and patients in the GTA are being sent to other parts of the province for care.
Ford hopes to have 40% of adults vaccinated by the end of the four-week stay at home order.
In addition, the province is also strengthening public health and workplace safety measures for nonessential retail under the provincewide emergency brake. Measures include, but are not limited to:
- Limiting the majority of non-essential retailers to only operate for curbside pick-up and delivery between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., with delivery of goods to patrons permitted between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., and other restrictions;
- Restricting access to shopping malls to limited specified purposes, including access for curbside pick-up and delivery, via appointment, with one single designated location inside the shopping mall, and any number of designated locations outside the shopping mall, along with other restrictions;
- Restricting discount and big box stores in-person retail sales to groceries, household cleaning supplies, pharmacy items (pharmaceutical, health care and personal care items, and pet care supplies) only;
- Permitting the following stores to operate for in-person retail by appointment only and subject to a 25% capacity limit and restricting allowable hours of operation to 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.:
- Safety supply stores; o Businesses that primarily sell, rent or repair assistive devices, aids or supplies, mobility devices, aids or supplies or medical devices, aids or supplies;
- Rental and leasing services including automobile, commercial and light industrial machinery and equipment rental;
- Optical stores that sell prescription eyewear to the public;
- Permitting outdoor garden centres and plant nurseries, and indoor greenhouses that engage in sales to the public, to operate with a 25% capacity limit and a restriction on hours of operation;
- Businesses that sell motor vehicles, boats and other watercraft;
- Vehicle and equipment repair and essential maintenance and vehicle and equipment rental services; and
- Retail stores operated by a telecommunications provider or service, which may only permit members of the public to enter the premises to purchase a cellphone or for repairs or technical support.
These additional and strengthened public health and workplace safety measures will be in effect as soon as the stay-at-home takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, April 8th.
Schools and child care will remain open for in-person care and learning in public health regions where it is permitted, with strict safety measures in place.
Also, beginning during the April break, education workers who provide direct daily support to students with special education needs across the province, and all education workers in high-risk neighbourhoods in Toronto and Peel, will be eligible for vaccination. As vaccine supply allows, eligibility will expand to high risk neighbourhoods in other hot spot regions, including York, Ottawa, Hamilton, Halton and Durham, followed by a rollout across the province as supply allows.
“While our government took decisive action by implementing the provincewide emergency brake, more needs to be done to protect against the threats to our health system resources and the continued health and safety of individuals and families across the province,” says Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “By further strengthening public health and workplace safety measures, we can work to reduce transmission of the virus while we work to rollout Phase 2 of our vaccine distribution plan, and put more needles in the arms of Ontarians.”
“The rapid and increasing spread of COVID-19 and the variants of concern pose significant threats to our health care system and the well-being of Ontarians, requiring immediate and decisive action,” says Solicitor General Sylvia Jones. “The declaration of a third provincial emergency is necessary to provide the government with the tools needed to help protect the public, reduce the spread of the virus and save lives.”
More details to come…
