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Summary
- As COVID-19 cases continue to rise in Canada’s Ontario, reports say that the populous province is set to return to a widened lockdown after Good Friday.
- The public health measures are expected to cover restrictions on businesses such as gyms, restaurants, salons, etc.
- Similar restrictions are being reimplemented in certain regions in the province of Quebec as well.
As COVID-19 cases continue to rise in Canada’s Ontario, reports say that the populous province is set to return to a widened lockdown after Good Friday. The restrictions, however, are likely to be not as strict as the province-wide shutdown imposed in December 2020.
The public health measures are expected to cover restrictions on businesses such as gyms, restaurants, salons, etc for 28 days starting Saturday, April 3.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford will reportedly announce a fresh set of COVID-related rules on Thursday, April 1.
New Mutant Variants Triggering Ontario Lockdown
While certain regions in Ontario, including capital Toronto, have been functioning under restrictions for a while now, the latest lockdown is expected to span across the province.
©Kalkine Group 2021
Ontario had observed a strict lockdown around the holiday season last year, after which it started to relax the rules over the past few weeks. Its upcoming return to restrictions comes as cases of mutant coronavirus variants continue to rise.
With under two per cent of the population reportedly being inoculated, many have also been pointing fingers at the slow progress of Canada’s COVID vaccination campaign.
In terms of reported cases, Public Health Ontario said that the 2,333 new infections on Tuesday, March 30, brought the overall count to 349,903 for the province. While more than 17,000 Ontarians are fighting the disease in hospitals, some 7,366 have lost their lives to it, the agency reported.
Additional Restrictions in Quebec
The rise of the mutant variants have ushered international locations like France and Italy under strict lockdown protocols. In Canada, similar restrictions are being reimplemented in certain regions in the province of Quebec as well.
©Kalkine Group 2020
Quebec Premier François Legault declared on Wednesday that Quebec City, Lévis and Gatineau will observe additional COVID-19 measures till April 12. The restrictions include an 8PM curfew, temporary shutdown of non-essential businesses and closure of schools.
While the rules kick in starting Thursday in these three regions, the Greater Montreal area will not be impacted by the restrictions.
Premier Legault’s move comes as the number of daily cases in Quebec City shot up from a reported number of 96 last Friday to 194 on Wednesday. Reports say that the figure is expected to touch the 300-mark on Thursday.
