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Ontario extending stay-at-home order for most regions

February 11, 2021   ·   0 Comments

By Paula Brown, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Ontario government has extended the stay-at-home order for most of the province while the state of emergency has now expired.

Premier Doug Ford made the announcement for the extension of the order and the move to a regional based approach on Monday (Feb. 8). The stay-at-home order will continue for 28 public health regions, including Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph until Feb. 16. For Toronto, York, and Peel, the stay-at-home order will stay in effect until Feb. 22.

While the stay-at-home order was extended for the most of the province, three public health units; Hastings Prince Edward Public Health, Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox, & Addington Public Health, and Renfrew County and District Health Units have been exempted from the order.

The government noted final decisions will be subject to review based on trends in the public health region.

The Ontario government also made the announcement that the province would be moving back to the colour-coded system (Green, Yellow, Orange, Red, and Grey) for the gradual reopening.

The government said they will gradually transition each region from the shutdown measures to a revised and strengthen COVID-19 Response Framework.

“Our number one priority will always be protecting the health and safety of all individuals, families and workers across the province,” said Ford. “But we must also consider the severe impact COVID-19 is having on our businesses. That’s why we have been listening to business owners and we are strengthening and adjusting the Framework to allow more businesses to safely reopen and get people back to work.”

As part of the revisions for the Framework, regions in Grey-Lockdown zones will be permitted to have limited in-person shopping.

With new variants of the novel virus occurring in Ontario the province is introducing an “emergency brake” if regions see a “rapid acceleration” of COVID-19 transmissions or health care centres become overwhelmed.

Ford said that if numbers spike again, the government is prepared to take further action.

Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health (WDGPH) at the time of print is expected to see the stay-at-home order expire on Feb. 16.

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