In fighting with Coronavirus, Ontario will step up enforcement powers for police and extend its stay-at-home order to a minimum of six weeks in a bid to curb the exponential rise in COVID-19 cases, but won’t institute paid sick days — despite modelling showing that cases will remain high through the summer without additional support for essential workers.
Speaking at a twice-delayed news conference on Friday, Premier Doug Ford announced the stay-at-home order first instituted on April 8 for four weeks will now be extended until May 20.
Effective 12:01 a.m. Saturday, outdoor gatherings will be prohibited except for members of the same household or one other person from outside that household who lives alone.
Police will have the authority to ask anyone outside their residence to indicate their purpose for leaving home and provide their address. That includes stopping vehicles and potentially issuing tickets of approximately $750.
Non-essential construction will be shut down and outdoor amenities like golf and playgrounds will be restricted. Retail capacity will be limited to 25 per cent in all settings where in-store shopping is still permitted.
Inspectors will also visit law offices, accounting firms and other such locations to confirm that only essential workers are in the building.
Effective 12:01 a.m. Monday, religious gatherings, weddings and funerals will be limited to 10 people, whether indoors or outdoors. Also beginning Monday, Ford said, there will be checkpoints at provincial borders with Quebec and Manitoba with exceptions for essential travel.
Ontario reported 4,812 fresh cases of COVID-19, the most ever on a single day, marking three straight days of new peaks. Admissions to hospitals climbed to 1,955, while the number of people being treated for COVID-related illnesses in intensive care rose to 701, both all-time highs since the pandemic began.
