TORONTO — York Region and Windsor-Essex have joined Toronto and Peel Region in lockdown under Ontario’s COVID-19 colour-coded system, moving from the red zone into the grey zone starting at 12:01 a.m. today.
Under the new restrictions, hotels and motels can remain open for business. However, pools, fitness centres, meeting rooms and other recreational amenities must be closed. Indoor and outdoor seating is banned at all restaurants, bars and cafés. Existing take out, drive-through and delivery services will be allowed to continue.
The lockdown runs for a minimum of 28 days, at which time the government will re-assess if a region should move into a different colour zone.
“Moving a region into Grey-Lockdown is not an easy decision, but it is one we needed to make in order to help stop the spread of the virus and safeguard the key services we rely on,” said Christine Elliott, Ontario’s Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, during Friday’s announcement. “As we enter the holiday season and as the province prepares to receive its first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines, it remains crucial for all Ontarians to continue adhering to public-health advice and workplace-safety measures to reduce the spread of the virus and keep each other safe.”
