A province-wide lockdown will go into effect in Ontario as of Boxing Day.
The lockdown, forcing nearly all non-essential businesses to close and banning indoor dining, will go into effect as of 12:01 a.m. December 26th across the province.
The lockdown will stay in effect until January 9th, 2021.
For all public health units in Southern Ontario, restrictions will stay in place until January 23rd.
It was originally expected that the lockdown would start on December 24th but cabinet pushed it back two days on Monday.
Publicly funded elementary and secondary schools in Ontario will close for in-person learning until at least January 11th.
All publicly-funded schools in northern public health regions are allowed to resume in-person learning on January 11th.
Elementary schools in southern Ontario can also resume in-person learning on January 11th.
However, secondary schools students in southern Ontario won’t be allowed to return to the classroom until January 25th.
Child care centres will stay open for the duration of the lockdown.
People are also being asked not to leave home unless it is for an essential reason and only travel outside their own region if absolutely necessary.
Anyone who travels within Canada during the province-wide shutdown is being asked to self-isolate upon their return to Ontario.
