Ontario closes schools until Jan. 17, bans indoor dining and cuts capacity limits
CTV
Ontario announced sweeping new restrictions that will see schools closed to in-person learning until at least Jan. 17, a ban on indoor dining, gyms shuttered and capacity limits put in place for retail as COVID-19 cases soar in the province.
The new restrictions, which also includes slashing gathering limits to five people indoors and to 10 people outdoors, come into place on Jan. 5 and will be in place for 21 days, the government announced Monday.
"The immediate goal of these measures will be to blunt the latest wave so we can ease the pressure on our hospitals," Premier Doug Ford said Monday while announcing a return to a modified Step 2. "We face a tsunami of new cases in the days and weeks ahead."
As of Jan. 5, the government said hospitals will be instructed to pause all non-emergent and non-urgent surgeries and procedures to protect hospital capacity.
Meanwhile, retail settings, including shopping malls, have had capacity limits slashed by 50 per cent.
