Ontario may impose a total lockdown
The province could return to the restrictions that were in place at the height of the pandemic.
Ontario residents may soon have to stay home again because the province is about to go into lockdown. Prime Minister Doug Ford's cabinet has approved a "stay at home order" because Ontario has been hit by the third wave of COVID.
The restrictions, imposed last week, have been criticized because they are not enough to slow the spread of the virus. Health officials in Toronto, Peel and Ottawa have called on the government to enact "stay-at-home orders" and ban travel between regions. They also demanded schools be closed and nearly 600,000 students be sent to distance learning, even though Ontario's spring break begins as early as April 12.
Sources CBC News familiar with the Cabinet decision say the order will take effect as early as April 8.
The order means that all secondary businesses in the province will close. Only grocery stores and pharmacies will be allowed to sell goods. Nothing has been said about schools, but the Peel District and Toronto have already closed.
Vaccination in Ontario is progressing, but it's not enough. Ford notes he doesn't like the restrictions, but it's a necessity. In the previous week, the province recorded an average of about 3,000 new infections per day. More than 500 patients are in intensive care units, the highest since the pandemic began. The previous anti-record was 420 patients in mid-January.
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