On December 21, 2020, the Ontario government announced that the entire province will be moved into lockdown beginning on Saturday, December 26, 2020 at 12:01 a.m.
The province-wide lockdown will be in effect for a minimum of 28 days for the 27 public health units in Southern Ontario (from December 26, 2020 to January 23, 2021) and 14 days for the 7 public health units in Northern Ontario (from December 26, 2020 to January 9, 2021). Throughout the shutdown, the government will assess the impact of the measures to determine whether it is safe to lift any restrictions, or whether they need to be extended.
Rules for the province-wide lockdown are established under Ontario Regulation 82/20, Rules for Areas in Stage 1 (“Regulation”), made under the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020, which has been revised to include Grey zones under Ontario’s colour-coded Keeping Ontario Safe and Open Framework. Key restrictions impacting employers include those set out below.
General Public Health Measures
General public health measures applicable to all businesses and organizations include, but are not limited to the following:
- Public health advice, recommendations, and instructions: Businesses or organizations must operate in compliance with the advice, recommendations, and instructions of public health officials, including any additional public health measures implemented by public health officials.
- Safety plans: Businesses or organizations that are open are required to prepare and make available a COVID-19 safety plan. A copy of the plan must be made available to any person for review upon request, and posted where it would come to the attention of individuals working in or attending the business.
- Screening: Businesses or organizations must operate in compliance with the advice, recommendations, and instructions issued by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health on screening individuals. Workplaces are required to screen any workers or essential visitors entering the work environment.
- Physical distancing and line management: Businesses must not permit patrons to line up inside or outside the businesses, unless they are maintaining a physical distance of at least two metres from other groups of persons and wearing a mask or face covering.
- Personal Protective Equipment: Personal protective equipment that provides protection for the eyes, nose, and mouth, is required if a worker is required to come within two metres of another person who is not wearing a face covering and not separated by plexiglass or some other impermeable barrier.
- Capacity limits: All businesses or facilities must limit capacity so that every member of the public is able to maintain two metres of physical distancing from every other person, and limit the number of people occupying any room that is open to the public to 50% capacity of the particular room. Some businesses or facilities have additional capacity restrictions that apply beyond the general capacity requirements.
- Cleaning and disinfection: Businesses or places that are open shall ensure that equipment, washrooms, locker rooms, change rooms, showers that are accessible to the public are cleaned and disinfected as frequently as is necessary to maintain a sanitary condition.
- Face coverings: Businesses or organizations must ensure that masks or face coverings are worn by any person (including members of the public and workers) in the indoor area of the business or organization, with limited exceptions.
Businesses Permitted to Open
The Regulation permits certain businesses to open with sector-specific restrictions, including, but not limited to the following:
- Meeting or event spaces: Only permitted to open for child care centres and authorized recreational and skill building programs, court services, government services, mental health and addiction support services (to a maximum of ten people), and social services. Contact information recording is required.
- Restaurants, bars, and other food and drink establishments: Only take out, drive through, and delivery services are permitted to open.
- Retailers:
- Stores that primarily sell food, discount and big box retailers that sell groceries to the public, pharmacies, and stores that sell liquor will be permitted to open for in-person retail, subject to physical distancing and capacity requirements.
- Safety supply stores and motor vehicle sales are permitted to open for in-person retail by appointment only, and subject to physical distancing and capacity requirements.
- Shopping malls are closed for in-person retail. Members of the public are only permitted to enter the mall to access businesses and organizations permitted to be open and food courts open for takeaway, or to facilitate pick-up at a designated location inside the shopping mall. Members of the public are not permitted to loiter in any area of the shopping mall unrelated to the purpose of their visit.
- All other retail (including hardware stores, pet food, computer stores, and cannabis retail stores) are only permitted to operate by curbside pick-up or delivery.
- Entertainment: Concert venues, theatres, and cinemas may open for the purpose of rehearsing or performing a recorded or broadcasted performance, subject to certain conditions. Spectators are not permitted to be in the venue.
- Services: Health care and social services, snow clearing and landscaping services, car washes, laundromats, gas stations, security services, rental and leasing services (by appointment only), domestic services (only to support children, seniors or vulnerable persons), courier services, funeral services, staffing agencies, veterinary services, rental accommodation, certain seasonal campgrounds, community centres, and cheque cashing services are permitted to open.
- Maintenance: Maintenance, repair and property management services that manage and maintain the safety, security, sanitation and operation of institutional, commercial, industrial and residential properties and buildings are permitted to open.
- Manufacturing: Businesses that extract, manufacture, process and distribute goods, products, equipment and materials, including businesses that manufacture inputs to other manufacturers (e.g., primary metal/steel, blow molding, component manufacturers, chemicals, etc. that feed the end-product manufacturer), regardless of whether those other manufacturers are inside or outside of Ontario, are permitted to open.
Protocols for Schools and Child Care Services
Specific protocols will apply to schools and child care services.
Schools
As part of the province-wide lockdown, all publicly-funded schools will move to remote learning from January 4, 2021 to January 8, 2021.
Schools in the Northern public health regions will be permitted to resume in-person instruction on January 11, 2021 for both elementary and secondary schools.
For schools in all other public health regions, elementary school students may return to in person learning on January 11, 2021, and secondary school on January 25, 2021.
During the applicable period, schools will be closed, except to provide access for child care centres in schools, and for staff who are unable to deliver quality remote teaching, instruction or support to students from home.
Child care services
Child care will remain open for the duration of the province-wide lockdown. This includes childcare offered in licensed centres, in home-based settings (licensed and unlicensed), and by authorized recreation and skill-building providers.
During the period where elementary schools are operating virtually from January 4, 2021 to January 8, 2021, licensed child care centres and authorized recreation and skill-building providers will be prohibited from providing care to school-aged children. All before and after school programs will be closed during this period, and may resume operation on January 11, 2021.
This blog is provided as an information service and summary of workplace legal issues.
This information is not intended as legal advice.