Ontario government expected to announce province-wide COVID-19 lockdown ahead of Christmas Social Sharing

 Ontario Premier Doug Ford is expected to announce sweeping new public health measures later today as the province tries to curb a climbing number of COVID-19 cases and increasing strain on hospitals.

new measures will include a 28-day lockdown for all parts of the province south of Sudbury.

The restrictions in these areas will look much as they did during Ontario's initial shutdown in the spring, with only essential businesses remaining open. The specific list of closures and guidelines was still being fine-tuned over the weekend, the sources said.

Areas north of Sudbury, meanwhile, will move into a two-week lockdown, the sources said, and winter break for elementary students across Ontario could be extended by up to two weeks.

The measures come against a backdrop of modelling that forecasts that, under any scenario, Ontario could see up to 300 patients with cases of COVID-19 in intensive care units by the end of December, the sources said.

At the current rate of transmission of the novel coronavirus, that figure would grow to around 700 by the end of January. During the height of the first wave of the illness in Ontario, some 264 patients required intensive care.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/covid-19-ontario-december-21-lockdown-orders-1.5849760