Parts of Ontario Could Be Headed to Stay-at-Home Order

Premier Doug Ford acknowledged that "how someone in downtown Toronto adheres to the stay-at-home order. will look very different than someone in a rural or remote area", though he also went as far as issuing pressing emergency alerts to remind constituents to stay inside their houses and "only go out if absolutely necessary".

Schools boards and the province have been informed that Toronto Public Health will follow Peel Region in shuttering schools to in-person learning.

You can read the full letter via the tweet below.

On April 4, the medical officers of health for Toronto, Peel (Brampton, Mississauga and Caledon) and Ottawa asked Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. David Williams, to recommend more stringent public health measures amid a rise in COVID-19 cases and ICU admissions.

The province logged 2,938 new cases of the novel coronavirus today (April 5) and 3,041 cases on Sunday (April 4), as data sharing was paused for the Easter Sunday holiday. Vera Etches said that given the rapid deterioration in local indicators across the three public health units, more is required to reverse the surge in COVID-19 numbers.

TPH is using a Section 22 order - which allows the city's medical officer of health to strengthen rules beyond what the province has put in place - to close schools to in-class learning from April 7 to April 18, a span that will include the April break. "Stricter lockdowns have been shown to be effective in other countries to control transmission while vaccine campaigns progressed to achieve sufficient population coverage to suppress transmission".

De Villa called the rising COVID-19 case rates in the city "horrific".

Ontario also reports 494 patients in intensive care because of COVID-19 and 293 on a ventilator. The number of COVID-19 patients in hospital jumped from 23 on March 19 to 53 on April 5, while the number of people in the ICU with COVID-19 quadrupled from four to 16.

The decision comes a day after neighbouring Peel Region opted to shut down its schools on Monday.

The Ontario Medical Association (OMA) issued a statement on Monday, saying provincial doctors are concerned that we are entering the worst phase of the pandemic since last spring and urge everyone - all levels of government and every Ontarian - to take the warning seriously.

According to Ottawa Public Health, there are seven COVID-19 outbreaks in Ottawa schools, involving 13 students and 6 staff members.

Toronto elementary and secondary schools will be closed for in-person learning as all students and staff will shift to online learning as of Wednesday.

Multiple sources have since confirmed to CTV News Toronto that a stay-at-home order is being considered by the Ontario government but it's not clear if the order would be issued provincewide or would go into effect regionally.