State of Emergency Declared in Ontario

Tuesday, 12 January 2021 13:47

Premier Ford is issuing a stay at home order that will take effect at 12:01 am on Thursday. Students are still slated to return to in class learning in Oxford County on January 25th.

ONTARIO - The Province of Ontario has issued a State of Emergency that is expected to last for at least 28 days.

Premier Ford is issuing a stay at home order that will take effect on Thursday at 12:01 am. The order means residents must stay at home with exceptions for essential purposes, such as going to the grocery store or pharmacy, accessing health care services, for exercise or for essential work. In addition to limiting outings to essential trips, all businesses must ensure that any employee who can work from home, does work from home.

The following additional public health measures will also take effect immediately:

- Outdoor organized public gatherings and social gatherings are further restricted to a limit of five people with limited exceptions. This is consistent with the rules during the lockdown during the first wave of COVID-19 in spring 2020 and will allow individuals and families to enjoy time outdoors safely.

- Individuals are required to wear a mask or face covering in the indoor areas of businesses or organizations that are open. Wearing a mask or face covering is now recommended outdoors when you can't physically distance more than two metres.

- All non-essential retail stores, including hardware stores, alcohol retailers, and those offering curbside pickup or delivery, must open no earlier than 7 a.m. and close no later than 8 p.m. The restricted hours of operation do not apply to stores that primarily sell food, pharmacies, gas stations, convenience stores, and restaurants for takeout or delivery.

- Non-essential construction is further restricted, including below-grade construction, exempting survey.

Students are still slated to return to in class learning on January 25th, with exception of the following regions, who will not return to class until February 10, 2021.

- Windsor-Essex
- Peel Region
- Toronto
- York
- Hamilton

The Province is also going to implement new safety measures for in person learners:

- Masking for Grade 1-3 and requirements for mask wearing outdoors;
- Enhanced screening protocols; and
- Expanded targeted testing.

The government will also implement new health and safety measures in Ontario child care settings, such as enhanced screening to align with school requirements, voluntary participation in targeted testing and additional infection prevention and control measures to align with schools. These enhancements are in addition to the existing health and safety measures already being implemented in child care settings across the province.

You can read more about the new restrictions online here. You can listen to the Premiers statement from this morning below: