Ontario Extends Emergency Orders until July 29

 The Ontario government, in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health, has extended most emergency orders currently in force under s.7.0.2 (4) of the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA) until July 29, 2020. Keeping the emergency orders in place provides the government with the necessary flexibility to ensure the protection of vulnerable populations, such as seniors, while continuing to implement its Framework for Reopening the Province with many regions entering Stage 3 on Friday.

“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.”

On July 7, 2020, the Government of Ontario introduced the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020 that would, if passed, ensure important measures remain in place to address the threat of COVID-19 once the provincial Declaration of Emergency has ended.The extension of these emergency orders under the EMCPA would allow orders that remain essential to be continued under the proposed legislation, if pas sed. The government continues to review emergency orders currently in place to determine when and if they can be safely eased or lifted.

Among the the orders are those affecting the deployment of some types of healthcare workers including PSW’s, and hospital staff. Rules for phase two, and phase one, as well as instructions for enforcement. Ontario has moves regions outside the GTA into phase three of reopening plan starting tomorrow.