Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Toronto and Peel Region will remain in the grey-lockdown zone beyond Monday’s deadline and into January.
“As for the lockdowns in the areas that are locked down right now, that are expiring on Monday, I can tell you they won’t be expiring,” Ford said in during a short briefing Friday afternoon.
“We are going to continue on with the lockdowns within those regions.”
Toronto and Peel Region entered lockdown on Nov. 23 for a 28-day period. The lockdown restrictions were set to end on Monday, Dec. 21. The government announced the lockdown would remain in place until at least Jan. 4.
“The trends we’re seeing throughout Ontario are very, very concerning and nothing is more important for our government, and the people of Ontario, is to make sure we protect the health and safety of each and every single person,” Ford said.
The government also announced Hamilton would enter the lockdown stage on Monday. It’s set to be in place for a minimum of 28 days.
Both regions continue to have the highest numbers of new COVID-19 cases daily among Ontario’s 34 public health units.
York Region and Windsor-Essex entered lockdown earlier in the week, on Monday.
Ford called an emergency meeting with health officials, including all CEOs from hospitals across Ontario, on Friday over hospitalization rates. He said the meeting will continue over the weekend and he will make an announcement about new measures on Monday at 1 p.m.
— With files from Nick Westoll