Premier Doug Ford has confirmed he will be pulling the emergency brake for all 34 public health units in the province.
A province-wide shutdown comes into effect on Saturday, April 3, 2021, at 12:01 a.m and will be in effect for at least 28 days.
"We are facing a serious situation and drastic measures are required to contain the rapid spread of the virus, especially the new variants of concern," said Premier Ford. "I know pulling the emergency brake will be difficult on many people across the province, but we must try and prevent more people from getting infected and overwhelming our hospitals."
Under the new shutdown order, all indoor events and social gatherings are prohibited. Outdoor events or social gatherings must be limited to five people except for with members of the same household.
All indoor and outdoor dining in restaurants, bars, and other food and drink establishments is prohibited. Take-out, drive-through, and delivery service is allowed.
Recreation facilities, inside and outside, as well as personal care service providers, will be required to close.
Retail settings like grocery stores, supermarkets, and convenience stores are allowed in-person shopping with 50 per cent capacity limits. All other retail stores may operate with 25 per cent capacity.
At this time, schools will remain open. However, Premier Ford said the government will not hesitate to move to remote learning to protect children and their families if needed.
"We will closely monitor the situation and not hesitate to act to protect our kids and your families," said Premier Ford.
Unlike back in December, the province is not issuing a stay-at-home order for Ontarians.
"We saw that last time that it had tremendous ill-effect on both children and adults. Especially with the warmer weather coming, we want people to be able to go outside and enjoy the outdoors assuming that everyone continues to follow the public health safety precautions," said Health Minister Christine Elliott.
Still, the Chief Medical Officer of Health is advising residents to limit trips outside the home and avoid social gatherings. Employers are being encouraged to make every effort for employees to work from home.
These recommendations are being made based on data presented by the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table on Thursday morning. The data shows the third wave is being driven by a more contagious variant of the virus.
