York Region moves into lockdown effective today
The Ontario government has moved York Region into a lockdown effective today.
On Friday, the provincial government said they made the decision in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health, local medical officers of health, and other health experts.
York Region, along with Windsor-Essex County, moved into the Grey-Lockdown zone, joining Toronto and Peel Region.
York will be in a lockdown for at least 28 days before the data is reviewed again.
Under the Lockdown level of the province’s COVID-19 framework:
- No indoor organized public events or social gatherings will be allowed except with members of the same household;
- Individuals who live alone, including seniors, may have close contact with one other person;
- Outdoor organized public events or social gatherings can have a maximum of 10 people;
- Weddings and funeral services where physical distancing can be maintained can proceed with up to 10 people indoors or 10 people outdoors;
- Religious services, rites, or ceremonies where physical distancing can be maintained can proceed with 10 people indoors or 10 people outdoors;
- Retail stores are only open for curbside pick-up or delivery;
- Supermarkets, grocery stores, pharmacies, discount and big-box retailers that sell groceries will remain open at 50% capacity;
- Beer, wine, and liquor stores, safety supply stores, hardware stores, and convenience stores will remain open at 50% capacity;
- Restaurants, bars, and food and drink establishments will be open for takeout, drive-through, and delivery only;
- Indoor and outdoor dining is prohibited;
- Personal care services are closed;
- Casinos, bingo halls, and other gaming establishments are closed;
- Indoor sports and recreational facilities, including pools, are closed with limited exceptions;
- Schools, before and after school programs, and child care will remain open;
- Post-secondary schools will be open for virtual learning with some limited exceptions for training that can only be provided in-person, such as clinical training or training related to trade.
For long-term care homes, visitor restrictions apply to those homes in the public health unit regions that are in the Orange-Restrict level or higher. In addition, long-term care homes must implement recently enhanced testing requirements.
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Toronto and Peel Region have been in lockdown since November 23, with the data being reviewed on December 21 to see if the measures need to be extended.
In York Region there have been a total of 13,457 cases, with 11,915 recovered and 315 reported deaths.