NEW: Ontario’s 3rd State of Emergency Declared & Mandatory Stay at Home Order Issued
- Today’s announcement: This afternoon, the Premier of Ontario announced that in light of reduced ICU capacity, a four week mandatory stay at home order would be in effect from 12h01am on Thursday, April 8, 2021.
- Why four weeks? The Province is aiming to vaccinate up 40% of all adults in Ontario, over the next four weeks. The mandatory stay-at-home order is necessary to achieve this goal.
Can our business keep our doors open?
- Current Information: Currently, no new framework has been published, however the announcement did confirm that the mandatory stay at home order would be similar to the one imposed earlier this year and we anticipate that further information and/or an updated framework will be made available shortly.
- All previous restrictions imposed under the Emergency Brake Shutdown (announced a week ago), will be retained under the current order i.e. no outdoor dining, no personal care services and limits on essential retail capacity. However, there are some additional restrictions that now apply.
- In addition to existing restrictions: Big box stores will be limited to the sale of essential food, grocery, personal care, medical and pet supplies only. This is likely aimed at addressing the complaints levelled by many non-essential retailers who have previously endured shut downs while big box stores continue to sell non-essential items.
- What does this mean for your business? Ontarians have been instructed to only leave their homes for permitted purposes i.e. for reasons related to grocery and pharmaceutical retail, accessing health care (including getting vaccinated), for outdoor exercise, or for work that cannot be done remotely. Accordingly, businesses that are not able to permit work-from-home arrangements will be permitted to continue operating, provided all existing COVID protocols are followed and provided that they don’t fall into one of the categories announced under the Emergency Brake Order (which largely aligned with the previous Grey Zone restrictions).
Retail Sector – Curbside pickup, or by appointment only (in certain cases)
- Non-essential retailers will once again be limited to curb-side pick-up, save for those retailers listed below, who will be required to limit store capacity to 25% and serve customers by appointment only and between the hours of 7 a.m. - 8 p.m., with the delivery of goods to patrons permitted between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m.:
- Safety supply stores;
- Businesses that primarily sell, rent or repair assistive devices, aids or supplies, mobility devices, aids or supplies or medical devices, aids or supplies;
- Rental and leasing services including automobile, commercial and light industrial machinery and equipment rental;
- Optical stores that sell prescription eyewear to the public;
- Businesses that sell motor vehicles, boats and other watercraft;
- Vehicle and equipment repair and essential maintenance and vehicle and equipment rental services; and
- Retail stores operated by a telecommunications provider or service, which may only permit members of the public to enter the premises to purchase a cellphone or for repairs or technical support.
- Garden Centres that retail to the public are also permitted to operate with a 25% capacity limit and will be restricted in their hours of operation to those between 7 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Enforcement Mechanisms
- The Solicitor-General has specifically mentioned that enforcement will be through police officers (for members of the public) and through the Ministry of Labour (for businesses). As previously advised, inspections will be on the increase in the coming weeks, with over 19,500 COVID related workplace inspections having been completed to date.
Vaccination Update
- Priority Areas: In the coming weeks, additional vaccination efforts will be increased in high risk neighborhoods as well as for education workers in the Toronto and Peel regions. Education workers supporting children with special education needs will also be prioritized, before additional vaccine programs are rolled out all remaining education workers across the province.
- Next Phase: Apart from education workers, individuals aged 60 and above can now receive their vaccine and individuals aged 55 and above can book a vaccine at their local participating pharmacy.
Rapid Tests
- Rapid tests continue to be deployed in key sectors of business, including manufacturing, warehousing, supply chain, construction, mining and food processing. Currently however, supplies are being focused on regions with higher transmission rates.
Schools
- Tied closely to the workplace are working parents and for the time being, schools and daycares will continue to remain open, with this remaining an ongoing priority.
We will continue to share further updates and insights as these become available however, for specific questions, please feel free to reach out to us directly at – nic@leclairandassociates.ca (519) 859 6015
