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Strategy April 08, 2021

Third COVID Wave Leads to Another Lockdown in Ontario

Heavy restrictions will be in place until at least May 3.

By  Sara Lavenduski

In yet another body blow to attempted economic recovery in Ontario, Canada, the government there has instituted a third province-wide shutdown and state of emergency to try to slow COVID-19 spread during a recent increase in virus cases. A third stay-at-home order is also now in place.

Over the past few weeks, case numbers and hospitalizations, much of them due to more-contagious virus variants, have jumped just as the province was anticipating opening back up this spring. This new “emergency brake” shutdown, implemented last week, will last until at least May 3.

“Right now, we’re into a third wave of COVID-19,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said last week during a press conference ahead of the shutdown announcement. “The variants of concern are spreading rapidly. This is a new pandemic. We’re now fighting a new enemy.”

All indoor and outdoor dining is once again banned, personal care businesses must re-shutter and outdoor fitness classes are prohibited. Outdoor gatherings have been halved, from 10 people to five, though schools and day care centers will remain open for now. Retail stores will also be able to welcome patrons, albeit with strict capacity limits. A full list of restrictions is here.

Non-essential retailers have also been ordered closed. The stay-at-home order means residents can venture out only for necessities, such as vaccination appointments, pharmacy runs, grocery shopping and dog walks.

The renewed restrictions are once again severely affecting businesses, particularly small ones. Restaurants Canada and the Ontario Restaurant Hotel and Motel Association have called on Premier Ford to rescind the ban on patio dining

“Unfortunately, we are not all in this together,” said Restaurants Canada in an open letter to Ford, which also demanded that the government increase economic aid for this industry specifically. “In a year when so many others have continued to receive their full pay, and some industries thrived during the pandemic, those in the restaurant sector have never worked harder and lost so much through no fault of their own. Restaurants provide a safe alternative to private gatherings and should be supported in their efforts to do so.”

It’s been a tough year for Canada, specifically Ontario, the country’s most populous province. Vaccine rollout has been slow; the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker found that only 2% of Canadians are fully vaccinated. Meanwhile, the main virus variant – B.1.1.7 – is more fatal and more likely to send people to the ICU, according to officials. Admitted patients are also skewing younger; about half of those who were sent to the ICU in the second half of March were under 60.

On April 6, as part of its second phase of the vaccine rollout, the Ontario government announced that it would be increasing vaccine shipments to people 50 years and older in 13 “hot spots” within the province, though officials haven’t yet announced when that would begin.

They’ve also said they’ll be expanding access to residents over 18 in hard-hit regions like Toronto and Peel. Premier Ford said this week that if the vaccine supply remains consistent, 40% of adults in Ontario will be vaccinated over the next four weeks.

In the meantime, many businesses hang in the balance after more than a year of onerous virus restrictions, and it’s weighing heavily on promo firms there.

“No one’s having a good time, especially the third time around,” Jamie McCabe, president of London, ON-based McCabe Promotional Advertising (asi/264901), told ASI Canada this week. “The first time we shut down, it was like the world of Salvador Dalí. It was surreal. The second time, we hoped it was the last. To have a third lockdown is beyond appalling. Watching our federal and provincial government is like a Three Stooges marathon, except no one’s enjoying it. Running a company during this has been like going to a plumbing job with only duct tape.”

Fortunately, McCabe has been able to maintain 2021 numbers that are comparable to its strong first quarter in 2020. But the team continues to be prepared for the unknown, and to be as agile as possible in the face of so much uncertainty.

“We’re looking beyond the next month,” says McCabe. “We’ll control what we can, analyze, strategize and beyond all, appreciate what we have.”