Hello Toronto! Ford is about to announce new restrictions after we heard from experts about how something has to give to keep hospitals below capacity to provide critical patient care (see buds @jyangstar @katecallen for that). I’ll post here what the changes mean for the city:

These are *current* rules for whole province, including Toronto: https://t.co/xKrVQKwJ2g

It appears we should not expect a full lockdown or curfew. Ford scheduled to speak any minute. I’ll try to make this foolproof but rules are not always clear from initial provincial release
BREAKING: Province now in state of emergency for 28 days. A stay-at-home order is being issued for Thurs. at 12:01AM — everyone must stay home except for essential trips, medical appts. In-person classes in Toronto, several other regions will remain suspended until Feb. 10.
I don’t have full details yet on this order, but stay tuned. Ford calls it a “drastic” measure. “Everyone must stay home to save lives.” He says enforcement and inspections will increase. Workplace inspectors will have powers to disperse people and issue tickets, he says
There will be enforcement blitzes at box-box stores, Ford says.
So basically kids can't go back to class but you can still be out at 1AM even if you don't have an essential job without consequence.
OK, I have finished reading this very disorganized provincial press release and let me save you the trouble https://t.co/eKtY7ahwqy
Here's what's new:
- The main thing is schools in Toronto, Peel, York, Hamilton and Windsor-Essex will remain closed for in-person classes until Feb. 10. This is the biggest update. In regions where classes do resume, Grades 1-3 must wear masks and masks must be worn outside
- "Non-essential" construction must stop but the province doesn't detail what is essential
- You can now only hang out with 5 people outside (down from 10)
- You should wear a mask even outside if you can't socially distance from people you don't live with
- Non-essential stores (this does not include grocers, pharmacies or restaurants) must now open no earlier than 7 a.m. and close by 8 p.m. There were previously no opening hours restrictions
- All employers must ensure that anyone who can work from home, does work from home
As far as I can tell, that's it. At risk of unprecedented case counts and hospitals being overwhelmed to the point workers will have to decide who lives and who dies, this is what the province has implemented.
Here is my story from the weekend on what stricter measures have been tried in other jurisdictions. The only one we're seeing announced today is further school closures. Eviction moratoriums being explored, but not announced today, release says https://t.co/ueprGbXKgt
Here's my story on today's announcement and what it means for Toronto and elsewhere: https://t.co/g5SmyiMENh
The premier's office has sent around what is an essential construction project. It's a long list that includes residential builds that have a footing permit and started before today (that is a lot of projects in Toronto)
If you do not have an essential job or staff a retail store/resto/bar allowed to remain open and are still going to the office, why? I've heard anecdotally about bosses being "old school" and tech/security issues, but we are 10 months into this and I genuinely don't understand.

More from Government

Canada is failing to act on Climate Change. @wef @WorldBank @IMFNews @IPCC_CH @UNDPGAIN @AntiCorruptIntl @Pontifex @JustinWelby @OCCRP @StopCorpAbuse @TaxJusticeNet @FairTaxCanada @ecojustice_ca @WCELaw @CanEnvLawAssn @envirodefence @IBA_Canada #cdnpoli


Covid recovery money is going to the oligarchy.

Ottawa and the provinces have put very little on the table to help clean-tech companies directly during Covid 19 while targeting fossil-fuel producers with more than $16 billion in aid.

Coast to coast people have demanded treaties be honored. We demanded climate action, divestment and land back but Canada is not listening. This video shows 10 years of rallies in Waterloo Ontario. City & regional council declared a climate emergency. 🚨

The Bank of China (BOC), SNC-Lavalin and WE Charity were recipients of taxpayer-funded the Covid 19 Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS)
The Government is making the same mistakes as it did in the first wave. Except with knowledge.

A thread.


The Government's strategy at the beginning of the pandemic was to 'cocoon' the vulnerable (e.g. those in care homes). This was a 'herd immunity' strategy. This interview is from


This strategy failed. It is impossible to 'cocoon' the vulnerable, as Covid is passed from younger people to older, more vulnerable people.

We can see this playing out through heatmaps. e.g. these heatmaps from the second


The Government then decided to change its strategy to 'preventing a second wave that overwhelms the NHS'. This was announced on 8 June in Parliament.

This is not the same as 'preventing a second wave'.

https://t.co/DPWiJbCKRm


The Academy of Medical Scientists published a report on 14 July 'Preparing for a Challenging Winter' commissioned by the Chief Scientific Adviser that set out what needed to be done in order to prevent a catastrophe over the winter
If you're curious what Trump's defense will look like, all you have to do is turn on Fox News. My latest at @mmfa

The tl;dr is that for years right-wing media have been excusing Trump's violent rhetoric by going, "Yes, but THE DEMOCRATS..." and then bending themselves into knots to pretend that Dems were calling for violence when they very, very clearly weren't.

And in fact, this predates Trump.

In 2008, Obama was talking about not backing down in the face of an ugly campaign. He said "If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun."

https://t.co/i5YaQJsKop


That quote was from the movie The Untouchables. And there's no way anybody reading that quote in good faith could conclude that he was talking about actual guns and knives. But it became a big talking point on the

In 2018, Obama-era Attorney General Eric Holder was speaking to a group of Georgia Democrats about GOP voter suppression. He riffed on Michelle Obama's "When they go low, we go high" line from the 2016 DNC.
Caveat: This article is sourced from @Daily_Express !!!

"End of Sturgeon?"

Frankly, an appropriate response from @NicolaSturgeon might be to quote the infamous Mark Twain response to an erroneous 'obituary' known to all...

"The reports of my demise are greatly exaggerated."

https://t.co/Ce1xVVISR2

More accurately, the media have quoted:

"Ms Sturgeon said she had a “real job to do” and was focused on guiding Scotland through the Covid-19 pandemic."

It's very reassuring to hear that @scotgov and @ScotGovFM have prioritised safeguarding lives and Scotland, above all else.

"I’ll leave others to play games or politics. I have got a real job to do and people can decide themselves whether I am doing it well or not, but I am absolutely 100 per cent focused on leading this country through a pandemic."

💯% 😀👍

Making her priorities crystal clear!

“That’s what I’ve done since this time last year and it’s what I’m going to continue to do for absolutely as long as necessary.”

And again, making it absolutely crystal clear!

You May Also Like