THUNDER BAY -- According to multiple reports,Ontario Premier Doug Ford is hitting the COVID-19 emergency brake across the province.
Ford is expected to move all of Ontario into the Grey-Lockdown zone, which would come into effect on Saturday and last for at least four weeks. The move comes amid soaring case counts in much of the province, which reported more than 2,300 cases on Wednesday.
According to Global News, the move would put an end to indoor and possibly patio dining across Ontario,though retailers would be allowed to remain open at strict capacity limit of no more than 25 per cent. Grocery stores will be capped at 50 per cent.
Schools are expected to remain open in most areas, at least next week, though they will remain closed in Thunder Bay through the April break. Thunder Bay was moved to Grey-Lockdown early last month, so little will change. The Northwestern Health Unit, however, is in Red-Control, so residents in Kenora, Sioux Lookout, Dryden and Fort Frances, among other communities, can expect stricter measures to be put in place.
CBC reported personal care services, like salons, will not be allowed to open. The province had recently declared personal care services could reopen on April 12,with no more than five patrons allowed inside at any given time.Gyms will also have to close across the province, though golf courses are expected to be allowed to reopen.
Ford earlier this week said he wouldn't hesitate to apply the emergency brake across the province, citing soaring case numbers. Ford put Ontario into a stricter province-wide lockdown on Boxing Day. Thunder Bay went to Red-Control on Feb. 16, but was back in Grey two weeks later.
