[GTranslate]TORONTO – The Ontario government is implementing a province-wide emergency brake amid surging COVID-19 case numbers and record hospitalizations, Premier Doug Ford announced today, at the end of a week characterized by controversy, and accusations and for the alleged immobility of the federal executive in the face of the sudden surge in Covid-19 cases throughout the province. With the new crackdown, all of Ontario enters the grey area starting tomorrow. Bars and restaurants can only remain open for takeaway food, with a ban on consumption within the premises. They close gyms, hairdressers and barbershops in all those areas of the province – such as the York Region – that were in the red zone.

The government’s four-week measure once again hits the gatherings. From tomorrow in the indoor spaces will be allowed the presence only of people living under one roof. Therefore, gatherings for lunch or Easter dinner that also concern families are forbidden: according to the new measures, at the table there can only be people from the same family unit who live at the same address. In short, the cut of the dove with relatives again this year will have to be “virtual”.

“The millions of additional vaccines we need are on the horizon, they are weeks away and that is how we know things will get better very, very soon. But the bottom line is we need more time. We need more time for our vaccine program to take hold,” Premier Doug Ford said in making the announcement. “We need more runway to allow our vaccines supply to get where we need it and that means we need to take action now.”

With regard to gatherings outside, groups of more than 10 people will not be allowed, who in any case will have to comply with the guidelines of social distance and on the use of masks.

Changes are also coming to stores. For those considered essential – food and pharmacy – capacity will be reduced to 50% of normal, while for non-essential shops this number will fall to 25%.

Schools, on the other hand, will remain open, despite the surge in infections over the past two weeks. The premier was eventually forced to give in to pressure from the health sector. Wednesday’s data, with more than 400 people in intensive care and the growth of hospitalizations due to the new variants, had their effect in the government control room, which decided to activate these new measures for at least four weeks. It remains to be seen why Ford decided to act so late to the demands that had come from many quarters, starting with the Ontario Medical Association and the organization representing the province’s nurses. Ontario’s key indicators and latest modelling show that additional measures must be taken. From March 26 to 28, 2021, provincial case rates have increased by 7.7 per cent to 101.1 cases per 100,000 people. Current COVID-19 related ICU admissions are already over the peak of wave two and hospitals in regional hotspots will need to further ramp down scheduled surgeries. COVID-19 related ICU admissions are projected to exceed 650 beds in a few weeks. These increases are being driven by COVID-19 variants, which are transmitted easily and result in a higher risk of death and hospitalization, including in younger populations. In Toronto, compared to the current situation, there will be no major changes. The highest price will be paid by restaurateurs, who just ten days ago were able to reopen their patios to customers. The same applies to hairdressers and barbers, who were due to reopen their doors on 12 April, according to the government’s previous roadmap. The discourse in the York Region, which was in the red zone and will therefore have to take a clear step back from the last month, is different.