TORONTO — The Ontario government has extended all orders currently in place under the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020 (ROA) until Jan. 20.
The move was made in consultation with Dr. David Williams, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, the province states in a Dec. 10 press release.
Provincial officials say the extension will support the safe delivery of health care and other critical services until COVID-19 vaccines are approved and widely available.
“Safeguarding the health and well-being of Ontarians remains our top priority at every stage of our COVID-19 response,” said Solicitor General Sylvia Jones. “As we prepare to implement a safe and effective immunization program, extending these orders will ensure tools remain in place to address urgent public health situations until all Ontarians can be vaccinated.”
The government also made amendments to O. Reg 82/20 (Rules for Areas in Stage 1) under the ROA, which applies to public health unit regions in the Stage 1 lockdown.
These amendments, which came into force Dec. 4, permit indoor farmer’s markets that primarily sell groceries, to be open in Stage 1.
For post-secondary institutions, the amendments increase the limit on the number of persons permitted in an instructional space at any one time for in-person instruction or in-person exams from 10 to 50 people for certain programs critical to supporting the health care workforce as set out in the order.
The ROA came into effect on July 24 to ensure “important measures remained in place” after the provincial declared emergency came to an end.
Under the ROA, orders can be extended for up to 30 days at a time and all order extensions must be reported to the Select Committee on Emergency Management Oversight. New orders cannot be created.
The list of orders under the ROA that have been extended can be found online on the Government of Ontario’s website.
