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Ontario to enter a second province-wide shutdown on Boxing Day

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Ontario will enter a full, province-wide shutdown effective 12:01 a.m. this Saturday, December 26, 2020. The shutdown has been ordered by Premier Doug Ford, announced today alongside "the Ontario government, Chief Medical Officer of Health and other health experts."

Ford says this shutdown is "a temporary, one-time measure due to the exceptional circumstances we are in." The shutdown will have further and tighter restrictions than the Grey-Lockdown Level that five regions of Ontario is already in. Instead, the rules will be similar to those of the original province-wide shutdown experienced back in late March 2020.

The shutdown (with the provincial government using a more severe name than lockdown) is fully outlined by the province online here. A press release leads by saying the shutdown is "to stop [the] spread of COVID-19 and to save lives."

This shutdown will last a minimum of 28 days in Southern Ontario (likely anywhere south of Sudbury) with the first possible reopening on Saturday, January 23, 2021. In Northern Ontario, the shutdown will last a minimum of 14 days with a possible reopening beginning on Saturday, January 9, 2021.

Both Oakville and Halton will almost certainly be included in the Southern Ontario category, meaning both the town and region will be in a second COVID-19 shutdown beginning this Saturday, December 26, 2020 until at least 11:59 p.m. on Friday, January 22, 2021.

Among the gravest importance, says Premier Ford, is not only staying home but avoiding travels between regions especially at all costs. "We've seen growing numbers of people travelling between regions in Ontario," said Ford. "People need to hunker down."

Rules under the second shutdown

Full details will be available within the next few days. Some highlights of the new restrictions for Oakville and the rest of Ontario include:

  • The current COVID-19 Response Framework will be paused when the province-wide shutdown comes into effect
  • Indoor organized public events and social gatherings are restricted, except with members of the same household (the people you live with)
  • Prohibiting in-person shopping in most retail settings; discount and big box retailers selling groceries will be limited to 25% capacity and grocery stores and pharmacies will continue to operate at 50% capacity
  • All dine-in service, indoor or outdoor, is prohibited - all service will be take-out, dine-in and delivery only
  • Secondary classes will be fully remote and online

Schools, once again, will be the only exception to the new lockdown rules. Kindergarten and elementary schools will resume classes on Monday, January 11, 2021, one week later than expected. High school students will begin fully remote learning on the 11th, with in-person classes first possibly beginning on Monday, January 25, 2021.

"Schools are not part of the COVID-19 problem," says Ford, "but these new restrictions are out of an abundance of caution."

One of the biggest reasons for the shutdown cited by Ford and his team are hospital capacities in cities. "Our hospitals continue to fill up. We've seen a 70% increase of hospitalizations and 80% increase in ICU patients in the last three weeks. We need to preserve capacity in our hospitals."

Following Ford, Deputy Minister Christine Elliot detailed further dates and timelines about the shutdown. "These are extraordinary times that call for an extraordinary response," said Elliot.

Briefly about reports of a new strain of the virus, Ford said "This is an extremely serious threat that we must take seriously. Otherwise the sacrifices we are asking Ontarians to make will have been for nothing."

Lastly, even amidst more waiting for vaccines, Ford encouraged Ontarians to be optimistic. "The vaccines have started to trickle in, but because of limited supply, mass immunity is still months away," he said today. "But I've said before, tough times don't last, but tough people do."

Learn more directly from the province online here. More to come on this breaking story.


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