Thought of the Day - April 16 2021 - Ontario Shutdown 2.0

Ontario now has a six-tier pandemic restriction framework.

After '5. Lockdown' there is '6. Shutdown'. 'Shutdown' was invoked on April 3, in response to Ontario seeing over 3,000 new cases a day. Now two weeks later cases are 50% higher at over 4,500 a day (more Sunday in By the Numbers), so starting Monday "Shutdown 2.0" will come into effect in Ontario until at least May 20th. The additional restrictions include:

Interprovincial travel

• Only travellers who are coming into Ontario for work, medical care, transportation of goods and exercising indigenous treaty rights can enter.

• The province is setting up checkpoints at all interprovincial borders.

Stay-at-home order

• The stay-at-home order, which went into effect on April 8 and was expected to last for 28 days, will now be extended for an additional two weeks, until May 20 at least.

• Residents must remain at home at all times, with exceptions for essential purposes, such as going to the grocery store or pharmacy, accessing health care services, for exercise or for essential work.

• Businesses across the province must ensure that any employee who can work from home does work from home.

Outdoor gatherings limited

• Starting Saturday, all outdoor social gatherings and organized public events will be prohibited, except with members of the same household. A person who lives alone could gather with one other household.

• All outdoor recreational amenities such as golf courses, basketball courts and playgrounds, will be closed.

Retail capacity slashed

• Non-essential stores must open no earlier than 7 a.m. and close no later than 8 p.m., including hardware stores, alcohol retailers, and those offering curbside pickup or delivery.

• Capacity limits for in-person shopping in all retail settings, where shopping is still permitted, will be limited to 25 percent capacity.

Places of worship

• Capacity at weddings, funerals and religious services will be limited to 10 people indoors and outdoors.

• Drive-in services will still be permitted.

Non-essential construction

• The government says non-essential construction will close, including construction at shopping malls, hotels and office towers.

• An enhanced provincewide inspection of 1,300 construction sites to enforce COVID-19 safety requirements will be launched.

Schools shutdown

• No in-person learning.

New Enforcement Measures

• Starting Saturday, police officers can stop a person or vehicle and will have the authority to require people to provide their home address and purpose for not being at their residence.

• Provincial offences officers will also be visiting over 500 workplaces this weekend in the COVID-19 hotspots of Ottawa and the GTA.

This gives a view of where a number of provincial authorities may be heading before the May long weekend.

Cheers

Cliff