Governor Ford this afternoon declared another state of emergency for the province effective immediately, with the government requiring everyone to remain in their homes for at least 28 days as of 12:01 a.m. this Thursday, except in cases of travel for essential living purposes. The number of people allowed to gather outdoors will be reduced to five from the current maximum of 10, shopping hours will be limited to between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m., office space will be restricted to essential workers only, and further restrictions will be placed on the construction industry.
Previously, sources confirmed to CP24 and CTV that Governor Ford raised the state of emergency as one of the options under consideration during a meeting with cabinet members, according to CP24.
Once a state of emergency is declared, the province will have the ability to enact new measures that go beyond the current restrictions of a province-wide lockdown. Giving Governor Ford the power to shut down more businesses, ban events and parties, and legally force people to stay home. But the original curfew measures predicted by outsiders were not included in the discussion.
Sources said the measures being considered by Ford’s cabinet include lowering the number of people at outdoor parties from 10 to five, limiting the allowed shopping hours to between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. Non-essential retail stores must close by 8 p.m. to 7 a.m., but retail stores that primarily sell food and medicine and gas stations, convenience stores and restaurant take-out are not subject to this restriction. Non-essential workers working in the workplace must go home to work, and only workers performing essential services will be allowed in the office, further restricting the construction industry.
The current rules regarding health care services, dental clinics, physical therapists and osteopaths will remain unchanged, the sources said.
All of these measures were confirmed in a press release issued by Governor Ford. In addition, the provincial government also announced that as of 12:01 a.m. this Thursday (Jan. 14), the government requires everyone to stay home for at least 28 days, except in cases of travel for basic living purposes including grocery shopping, medicine, doctor’s appointments, exercise, etc.
In addition students in Toronto, Peel Region, York Region, Hamilton and Windsor-Essex cannot return to school until Feb. 10.
Ontario declared a state of emergency on March 17, 2020 during the early stages of the new coronavirus pandemic. The move resulted in the closure of much of the economy, extended school and daycare closures and restrictions on public gatherings.
After the pandemic improved, the Ford government passed the Reopening Ontario Act and the province’s state of emergency officially ended in July.
Under the Reopening Ontario Act, many of the measures included in the original state of emergency remain in place, but it is important to note that the province can only expand or amend existing measures. New restraining orders under the Reopening Ontario Act must be renewed every 30 days, while emergency orders must be renewed every 15 days.
Toronto Mayor John Chuang has reportedly previously said he supports the curfew, and Chuang also urged the province to consider narrowing the list of businesses deemed critical so that more people can stay home.
I’m not against curfews, but I really doubt they’re effective,” said Chandray. If there is a curfew, can we impose it?
Dr. Samantha Hill, president of the Ontario Medical Association, said that if confirmed cases in Ontario continue to increase, doctors will have to allocate primary care services. We can’t accommodate thousands of people at a time in the ICUs of our hospital system, she said. Doctors don’t have the training to decide who needs a ventilator more when there aren’t enough of them.
Dr. Michael Warner, a physician at Michael Garron Hospital, said he is confused as to why the Ford administration has not acted more quickly in the past few weeks. We need a lockdown mechanism that at least mimics what we did in the first wave of the epidemic, he said. The first wave of the lockdown was more effective than the one we’ve had so far. We can’t delay, and if we know we need to do more, why can’t we implement it right away? I think it’s irresponsible not to implement more restrictions immediately when we have the data necessary to make a decision, and I’m very disappointed in that, and he urged Ontario to take new measures as soon as possible.
Dr. Isaac Bogoch, a member of the Ontario Vaccine Distribution Task Force and an epidemiologist, told CP24 that the latest provincial model predicts that without further public health measures, the number of cases will increase by 6,000 per day by Jan. 30.
On Monday, Ontario added another 3,338 confirmed cases and 29 deaths. Ontario’s hospitalization rate reached its highest point in the pandemic, at 1,563.
Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath said on Twitter Monday that the new restrictions should be combined with additional support for businesses and workers. Stricter measures must be accompanied by significant investments to support Ontarians, such as paid sick leave, safe isolation facilities and direct financial help for small business owners and individuals, she said.
Repeating remarks he has made since last December, Chantilly said Ontario needs a second full-scale lockdown, similar to what we did in the spring, in order to control the spread of COVID-19. He said the spring-like closure period was upsetting, but it did work because everything was closed and people stayed home. He thinks some of the businesses operating under the current lockdown may be closing.
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