TORONTO, ON., June 6, 2020 — Today, the Ford government announced that it has extended all emergency orders currently in force under s.7.0.2 (4) of the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act until June 19, 2020, while the State of Emergency in Ontario is also still in place until June 30.
The province says in a statement that it is extending these emergency orders to give employers of frontline care providers the necessary flexibility to respond to COVID-19 and protect vulnerable people and the public as the province gradually and safely reopens.
“It is critical that we keep these emergency orders in place so we can continue to reopen the province gradually and safely,” said Premier Doug Ford. “We are not out of the woods yet, and this deadly virus still poses a serious risk. We encourage businesses to begin preparing to reopen, so when the time comes, they will be able to protect employees, consumers and the general public.”
The extension means that although the City of Toronto has advised restaurants, bars, salons and more, to get prepared to reopen, most likely they will be waiting at least 10 more days. The orders also mean that child-care centres will remain closed for the time being.
Premier Ford said that “early next week” the province will announce a plan to move to Stage 2, which includes the reopenining of childcare centres, select office towers reopening for work, as well as allowing gatherings of more than five people.
Current emergency orders that have been extended include those that enable frontline care providers to redeploy staff where they are needed most, allow public health units to redeploy or hire staff to support case management and contact tracing, and prohibits long-term care and retirement home employees from working at more than one home or for another health service provider.
Additionally, due to COVID-19’s unprecedented impact on the justice system, the province is extending the suspension of limitation periods and time periods in proceedings until September 11, 2020 under s.7.1 of the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act. This will ensure people will not experience legal consequences if the original time requirements of their case are not met while this order is in effect. The province is working closely with the courts to ensure operations can resume as soon as it is safely possible.
Anyone who suspects they may have COVID-19, or may have been exposed to the virus, is encouraged to visit an assessment centre to be tested. To help stop the spread, people should practise physical distancing by staying at least two metres apart from anyone outside their immediate household, wash hands thoroughly and frequently, and, if physical distancing is a challenge, wear a face covering.