Ontario strengthens stay-at-home restrictions

TORONTO — In an attempt to alleviate skyrocketing COVID-19 case counts and reduce the strain on the hospital system, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced additional restrictions to Ontarians on Friday.

Amendments to the previous Emergency Order were made, to provide police and other provincial offences officers enhanced authority to support enforcement of Ontario’s stay-at-home order.

In addition, the Emergency Order was extended for two additional weeks from its original 28-day duration. The order is due to be lifted around May 20 now, but Ford reserved the right to extend it further.

Effective Saturday morning, April 17, Ford deemed that police officers and other provincial offences officers now had the authority to require anyone to provide their home address and purpose for not being at their residence.

This decision was met by resistance from about 40 police services across the province, who quickly came out to say that they would not be randomly stopping vehicles to check their compliance.

With Friday’s announcement, came other restrictions that tightened up previous limits for certain things, such as indoor and outdoor gatherings, religious services and workplace restrictions.

Golf courses, which up until now had been allowed to open, were closed as of Saturday morning.

The playground at Leamington’s Rickway Park was shut down with caution tape on Friday as part of the government’s new restrictions, but opened back up over the weekend when the playground portion of the restrictions was reversed.

Sun photo

Playgrounds were ordered closed, which had local municipal employees scrambling to cordon them off with caution tape.

By Saturday afternoon, after outcry from residents and doctors alike, Ford retracted the playground ban and allowed them to open back up, cautioning people to maintain social distancing while at the neighbourhood parks.

Ford and his team have also reduced the capacity limits in grocery, pharmacy, convenience and big box stores to 25 per cent, which is half of the number allowed just last week.

They are also limiting the capacity of funerals, weddings and religious services, rites or ceremonies to 10 people, indoors or outdoors.

The information changes daily, so be sure to visit Ontario.ca for up-to-date information.