Ontario issues stay-at-home order and declares second state of emergency

The Province of Ontario has issued a stay-at-home order and declared a second state of emergency, in addition to further restrictions and enforcement to the current province-wide shutdown.

When:
The stay-at-home order goes into effect on Thursday, January 14 at 12:01 a.m. The state of emergency is effective immediately and will be reevaluated in 28 days. New restrictions and enforcement measures will be put in place between January 12 and 14.   

Where:
Province-wide, including all eight municipalities in Durham Region.

What:
 The stay-at-home order requirements, new restrictions and enforcements include, but are not limited to:

Stay-at-home order

• Everyone is to remain at home with exceptions for essential purposes, such as going to the grocery store or pharmacy, accessing health care services, for exercise or for essential work.
• In addition to limiting outings to essential trips, all businesses must ensure that any employee who can work from home, does work from home.

Additional restrictions

• Outdoor organized public gatherings and social gatherings are further restricted to a limit of five people with limited exceptions.
• Individuals are required to wear a mask or face covering in the indoor areas of businesses or organizations that are open.
• Wearing a mask or face covering is now recommended outdoors when you can't physically distance more than six feet. 
• All non-essential retail stores, including hardware stores, alcohol retailers, and those offering curbside pickup or delivery, must open no earlier than 7 a.m. and close no later than 8 p.m. The
  restricted hours of operation do not apply to stores that primarily sell food, pharmacies, gas stations, convenience stores, and restaurants for takeout or delivery.
• Non-essential construction is further restricted, including below-grade construction, exempting survey.

Enforcement

• Ontario Provincial Police, DRPS, bylaw officers, and provincial workplace inspectors will issue tickets to individuals who do not comply with the stay-at-home-order, or those not wearing a mask or face covering indoors as well as retail operators and companies who do not enforce. 
• All enforcement personnel will have the authority to temporarily close a premise and disperse individuals who are in contravention of an order, and will be able to disperse people who are gathering, regardless of whether a premise has been closed or remains open, such as a park or house.

These are just a few examples of the new changes that are now in place for Durham Region. For a full list of changes and for more information, visit ontario.ca.

Note: Stay home, stay safe, save lives. Support local businesses where possible, wash your hands frequently, stay six feet apart, wear your mask, and download the COVID Alert app.

Remember to visit durham.ca/COVIDCases for the latest available case information in Durham Region.

Together we remain #DurhamStrong.

For media inquiries, please contact Durham Region's Corporate Communications.

View this notice on the Region of Durham's website.