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As the cases of COVID-19 continue to increase at an alarming rate, the Ontario Government is imposing a shutdown in the entire province after consulting with the chief medical officer of health and other health experts. Other restrictions will be put in place that will reinforce the fact that Ontarians must stay at home as much as possible to minimize the spread of the virus and prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed. The province-wide shutdown will come into force on Saturday, December 26, 2020 at 12:01 am.
The details of Ontario shutdown were made available on Monday (Dec 21) by Premier Doug Ford, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health Ms Christine Janice Elliott, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams, Minister of Education Mr Stephen Francis Lecce, President and CEO of William Osler Health System Dr. Naveed Mohammad.
Premier Doug Ford said while making the announcement, “The number of daily cases continues to rise putting our hospitals and long-term care homes at risk. We need to stop the spread of this deadly virus.”
“That’s why, on the advice of Dr. Williams and other health experts, we are taking the difficult but necessary decision to shut down the province and ask people to stay home. Nothing is more important right now than the health and safety of all Ontarians,” Premier Ford added.
Responding to these extraordinary circumstances, the province-wide shutdown would implement time-limited public health and occupational safety measures similar to those in other provinces and territories. This will help prevent the high spread of COVID-19 in the community, maintain the capacity of the health system, protect the vulnerable and those who care for them, and save lives.
The current COVID-19 Response Framework will be discontinued once the province-wide shutdown becomes effective. The impacts of these temporary measures will be evaluated during 14 days till January 9, 2021 in Northern Ontario and 28 days till January 23, 2021 in Southern Ontario to determine whether the restrictions should be removed or extended.
The Chief Medical Officer of Health will assess and apply lessons learned to date on the COVID-19 Response Framework to ensure that appropriate and effective measures are taken during Ontario shutdown to protect the health of Ontarians and fostering economic recovery once the province-wide shutdown comes to an end. This will involve an assessment of how a revised approach to the safe reopening of retail could be operational, in accordance with the latest available evidence.
