The Premier of Ontario has announced the province will be shutdown as of 12:01am on Boxing Day (December 26th).
This shutdown will be similar to the one that happened in March, meaning essential services such as grocery stores will be open, and other stores will be open for curbside pickup only.
Premier Ford says the reason the shutdown happens on Boxing Day and not sooner is because he wants to give businesses a chance to get rid of their holiday inventory.
Northern Ontario will be shutdown for 14 days, and Southern Ontario will be shutdown for 28 days.
This shudown includes an extension for students.
Students from kindergarden to Grade 8 will go back to school on January 11th, whereas high school students will resume online learning on January 11th, and return to classrooms on the 25th,
Ford says schools have not been the culprit for the spread of COVID-19.
Despite restrictions, Ford says we've seen a growing number of people travelling within regions in Ontario.
He says the virus has been spreading from high outbreak areas, to areas with less cases.
Ford says there's been a 70% increase in hospitalizations and 80% increase in ICU patients in the last few weeks.