The government says the school closure will last until at least Jan. 17
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Ontario is moving schools online for the next two weeks and pausing non-urgent surgeries amid a raft of new restrictions in a bid to slow the spread of COVID-19.
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Premier Doug Ford announced the plan Monday along with other restrictions on businesses and gatherings aimed at controlling the highly contagious Omicron variant. “We’re facing a tsunami of new cases,” he said.
Roughly one per cent of Omicron cases result in hospitalization, which is enough to overwhelm the health-care system, Ford said.
The measures will take effect on Wednesday, when the province’s chief medical officer will reinstate a directive ordering hospitals to pause all non-emergent and non-urgent surgeries to preserve critical care capacity.
Indoor dining areas at bars and restaurants, gyms, indoor sports venues and other indoor gathering spaces must close on Wednesday, while personal care services and retail stores will be limited to 50 per cent capacity and indoor social gatherings will be capped at five people.
The government says the school closings will last until at least Jan. 17 and free child-care will be provided for frontline workers with school-aged children. The other restrictions are set to continue at least three weeks, until Jan. 26.
Christine Elliott, Ontario’s health minister, described them as “time-limited measures.”
The provincial government is also offering rebate payments for certain businesses that are ordered to close or reduce capacity.
In London, COVID hospitalizations have risen over the past couple of weeks. Per the most recent update, Dec. 31, London Health Sciences Center was caring for 28 patients, with nine of them in intensive care.
The Middlesex-London Health Unit on Monday reported 486 new cases and no deaths. The local pandemic total now sits at 21,241 cases and 259 deaths.