COVID-19 in Ontario and reduce the strain on hospital intensive care units, the provincial government moved to activate its “emergency brake” shutdown restrictions.Officials said as of 12:01 a.m.
on April 3, the order will see all of the province’s public health regions move to the shutdown level from each of the current designations under Ontario’s COVID-19 response framework.“We are facing a serious situation and drastic measures are required to contain the rapid spread of the virus, especially the new variants of concern,” Premier Doug Ford said in a statement on April 1.“I know pulling the emergency brake will be difficult on many people across the province, but we must try and prevent more people from getting infected and overwhelming.