The Provincial Government of Ontario has announced a provincewide shutdown that began on April 3, 2021 and will be in place for at least 28 days.

What does this mean for businesses?

The provincewide shutdown puts in place time-limited public health and workplace safety measures to help to stop the rapid transmission of COVID-19 variants in communities, protect hospital capacity, and save lives. Measures include, but are not limited to:

• Prohibiting indoor organized public events and social gatherings. Limiting the capacity for outdoor organized public events or social gatherings to a five-person maximum, except for gatherings with members of the same household (the people you live with) or gatherings of members of one household and one other person from another household who lives alone.
• Restricting in-person shopping in all retail settings:
  50 per cent capacity limit for pharmacies, supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience stores, indoor farmers' markets and other stores that primarily sell food;
  25 per cent for all other retail including big box stores.
• Prohibiting personal care services
• Prohibiting indoor and outdoor dining. Restaurants, bars and other food or drink establishments will be permitted to operate by take-out, drive-through, and delivery only.
• Prohibiting the use of facilities for indoor or outdoor sports and recreational fitness (e.g., gyms) with very limited exceptions.
• Requiring day camps, museums and cultural amenities, concert venues, and theatres and cinemas (including drive in or drive through events) to close.

On the advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health, all Ontarians are asked to limit trips outside the home to necessities such as food, medication, medical appointments, supporting vulnerable community members, or exercising outdoors with members of their household. Employers in all industries should make every effort to allow employees to work from home.

The above is only a summary of some of the sector restrictions. For a more complete breakdown, view the Provincial Shutdown details.

source: County of Grey