Premier: Stay At Home Ontario

Another State of Emergency has been declared in Ontario.

Premier Doug Ford says this second declaration since the COVID-19 pandemic began last March is needed due to the worsening spread of the virus.

The premier has also announced a stay-at-home order which begins on Thursday.

The order requires everyone to remain at home with exceptions for essential purposes, such as going to the grocery store or pharmacy, accessing health care services, for exercise, or for essential work.

The province says this order and other new and existing public health restrictions are aimed at limiting people’s mobility and reducing the number of daily contacts with those outside an immediate household.

In addition to limiting outings to essential trips, all businesses must ensure any employee who can work from home, does work from home.

The Premier also announced retailers will be subject to shorter operation hours meaning all non-essential retail stores, including hardware stores, alcohol retailers, and those offering curbside pickup or delivery, must open no earlier than 7 a.m. and close no later than 8 p.m.

The order also means gathering sizes will be reduced from 10 to five people, with limited exceptions.

Under the declaration of a provincial emergency, the province authorizes all enforcement and provincial offences officers, including the Ontario Provincial Police, local police forces, bylaw officers, and provincial workplace inspectors to issue tickets to individuals who do not comply with the stay-at-home-order, or those not wearing a mask or face covering indoors as well as retail operators and companies who do not enforce.

The news came the same day the province released the latest models for the spread of the pandemic. Officials are advising the Premier the number of deaths associated with the second wave will be higher than the first wave. The small glimmer of good news is Ontario only reported 2,903 new cases today and there was only one new case today in the Thunder Bay region.