As COVID-19 cases continue to rise at an alarming rate, the Ontario government, in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health and other health experts, has imposed a new Provincewide Shutdown. The Provincewide Shutdown will go into effect as of Saturday, December 26, 2020, at 12:01 a.m.
Additional restrictions have been put into place, and Premier Ford has reinforced that Ontarians should stay at home as much as possible to minimize transmission of the virus and prevent hospitals from becoming overwhelmed. Construction activities or projects and related services that support construction activities or projects, including demolition services and land surveyors, have been deemed essential and will remain open.
The increased lockdown measures also mean all non-essential businesses must close, and essential businesses that remain open will have strict capacity limits in place. A full list of essential and non-essential industries during the province-wide shutdown information is available. Hardware stores will not be deemed essential under new measures and must switch to curbside pickup and delivery.
The impacts of these time-limited measures will be evaluated after 14 days in Northern Ontario and after 28 days in Southern Ontario to determine if it is safe to lift any restrictions or if they need to be extended. The current COVID-19 Response Framework will be paused when the Provincewide Shutdown comes into effect. Visit Ontario’s website to learn more about how the province continues to protect Ontario's people from COVID-19.
For additional information, visit the OGCA COVID-19 webpage.
