New Restrictions for Ontario

At a press conference this morning, Premier Doug Ford, accompanied by Health Minister Christine Elliott and Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore announced new restrictions for Ontario in response to the continuing surge of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. The Province is going back to Step Two of the Roadmap to Reopening Plan, which was used last year, with some modifications starting on January 5, 2022.

Restrictions include Ontario Students going online for school starting January 5, 2022, a reduction of social gatherings from 10 to 5 indoors, and requiring employers to shift to working from home if possible. The government is also limiting retail, personal care services and religious services to 50%.

Finally, the government is closing restaurants to indoor dining, gyms, and sports venues. Except for schools, which are expected to stay closed for two weeks, all of these restrictions are expected to take effect for 21 days, until January 26, 2022.