TORONTO – The Ontario government announced on Thursday (July 16) that they have extended all current emergency orders until July 29.
The orders, which include the prohibition of social gatherings of more than 10 people, have been extended several times since first introduced on March 17 at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The province said the extension was made to ensure the government has the “necessary flexibility to protect public health and safety” as more businesses reopen.
“Although the trends in public health indicators continue to improve, we must remain on our guard and only relax emergency orders if and when safe to do so,” said Premier Doug Ford.
“By following our gradual plan to reopen the province, we are seeing people get back to work and resume many activities safely.
“We do not want to undo the tremendous progress we have made together, so I urge everyone to stay the course and follow public health advice.”
The Ontario government intends to extend emergency orders to line up with the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act that was introduced on July 7.
The proposed legislation would allow the government to “continue its path to recovery by easing restrictions where appropriate, while maintaining important select tools” in battling the COVID-19 virus.
A full list of emergency orders can be found at Ontario.ca/alert.
