Categories: Lifestyle

Ontario hits the “emergency brake” with a third province-wide lockdown

Well, Ontario. It’s official. Lockdown round three, here we come. Premier Ford addressed the province this afternoon to make the announcement. Beginning this Saturday, April 3rd at 12:01 AM, we’ll be going into what’s being called an “emergency brake” across all regions. The new guidelines and restrictions are set to last at least four weeks.

So what can we expect? Nothing we haven’t done before. For starters, folks will need to remain with their immediate households. Social gatherings will be a pretty big no-no for the next little while, with outdoor get-togethers capped at maximum 5 people.

Essential retailers like grocery stores and pharmacies will remain open, but they’ll be reduced to 50% capacity. Non-essential retailers will be capped at 25% capacity. Personal care and fitness facilities are closing less than a week after they were permitted to reopen. Additionally, our glimpse at patio season will come to a close as both indoor and outdoor dining are no longer allowed.

Things like weddings and religious services are still permitted in the province, as long as they are operating at 15% capacity. Schools and child-care services will remain open going into their planned April break.

Within the announcement, Ford stressed the importance of Ontario’s “emergency brake.” As we continue in the third wave of COVID-19, new variants are more dangerous than ever. Apparently, there’s been a 14% increase in hospitalization and today actually marks the most patients currently in ICU in Ontario.

So hang tight, people. We know this isn’t the happiest news. But we’ve done this before, we can do it again.

Stay healthy, everyone.