This may be bad news for the over 4000 people employed by Niagara's two casinos hoping to return to work soon.
Health Minister Christine Elliot confirmed the province is taking a four-week pause before considering loosening any further COVID-19 restrictions or reopening more businesses.
She says Ontario needs to do everything it can to prevent the spread of COVID-19 on the first day that many students are returning to school.
The news of the 'pause" could spell bad news for casino workers in Niagara Falls who have been laid off for almost six months as the casinos remain closed.
Mayor of Niagara Falls, Jim Diodati has written to Ontario's Medical Officer of Health asking him to come visit the casinos in person to experience their reopening plans.
Diodati says the casinos have spent $1M on improving health and safety requirements and even hired their own epidemiologist.
He says Niagara Region Public Health has greenlighted the cainos reopening plan, and he believes if provincial health officials see the casinos and hear the plan first-hand they will allow the casinos to have more than the 50 people allowed indoors under Stage 3.
Diodati says the over 4000 casino employees need to start going back to work, saying the mental health of laid off workers is at risk as their unemployment continues.
CERB, the Canadian government's financial relief benefit, is expiring October 3, 2020.
A new program will replace the benefit, and the government has loosened restrictions for people to be eligible for EI.