Ontario is starting to ease COVID-19 restrictions, lifting stay-at-home orders Wednesday for three eastern regions that have low infection rates, but keeping the rest of the province in lockdown another week with Toronto, Peel Region and York Region not slated to emerge until Feb. 22.
The plan to be outlined by Premier Doug Ford this afternoon lets a four-week state of emergency imposed on Jan. 12 expire Tuesday, but comes with an “emergency brake” to allow a quick return to regional shutdowns if cases flare, particularly from new variants of the virus that are more contagious.
