Photo: Government of Ontario
June 9th Emergency Orders
The Ontario government has announced all emergency orders have been extended to June 30th 2020 province-wide. The emergency orders will now be in effect another 11 days. June 19th was the original expiration date.
This morning's announcement follows last week's extension on Ontario's state of emergency. Enacting the state of emergency allows the government to implement temporary emergency orders. Premier Doug Ford says June 30th is now the expiration date for both the state and its orders.
"Extending these emergency orders gives our frontline health care providers the necessary flexibility to rapidly respond to urgent needs and protect our most vulnerable," said Ford. "Even though we're seeing decreasing infection rates with increased testing levels, we can't let our guard down just yet."
Reopening will continue even with orders extended to June 30th
Halton Region, despite today's extension, is still clear to begin its stage 2 reopening on Friday June 19, 2020. A majority of Ontario's public health unit regions moved forward to Stage 2 last Friday the 12th. Only 3 regions will stay in stage 1 as of Friday. They are Toronto, Peel and Windsor-Essex.
This announcement allowed the opening for some businesses crippled financially from closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ford has previously said that extending the emergency orders will "not slow down the province’s reopening plan."
Ontario doubled social gathering rules last week, now allowing up to ten (10) people at once. Those ten people do not need to be from the same household to get together.
These increased social gathering rules, including new social bubbles, apply to the entire province regardless of whether the region is moving to Stage 2. Physical distancing rules, however, still apply.
The government also said it will continue reviewing each emergency order on a case-by-case basis to determine when it can be adjusted or lifted. A full list of orders extended today can be read here.
