Doug Ford just tried to clarify Ontario's stay-at-home order and failed

Ford says eight new cases of the United Kingdom strain of the virus were identified today and still one third of Ontarians are ignoring published guidelines.

"We are still months away form the millions of doses to get the critical mass of people vaccinate", Ford said.

The new restrictions were announced shortly after the province released projections that show the virus is on track to overwhelm Ontario's health-care system.

Watson explained that because the province left it up to the individual school board's discretion, each board may differ when choosing what level of disability a child needs to have to be allowed back - meaning a child could go back to the classroom in one board but not another.

The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Ontario rose by 138, for a total of 1,701.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford will respond to the modelling predictions later this afternoon.

Health officials say the the daily number of COVID-19 deaths in Ontario could double from 50 to 100 between now and the end of February. But another 41 people had died in the province since Monday and 138 more were admitted to hospital because of COVID-19.

Ontario is not alone.

"There will be choices about who will get the care they need and who will not", Brown added.

Escalating case counts have led to increased hospitalization rates and intensive care unit (ICU) occupancy which has resulted in cancellations of scheduled surgeries and procedures.

The province is allowing police to write tickets for people who don't comply with the stay-at-home order, temporarily close premises and disperse individuals who are gathering, regardless of whether or not the premises is closed.

Covid-19: 4,929 New Cases And Eight Additional Deaths
The outbreak led to 52 of the 65 residents testing positive for the virus, with 33 of the 75 staff also contracting the disease. More cases were recorded in Galway than in Dublin, despite it having a fraction of the capital's population.

Other targeted inspections will be carried out at manufacturing businesses, warehouses, distribution centres, food processing operations, construction projects and publicly accessible workplaces deemed essential, such as grocery stores. "If the answer isn't an immediate and emphatic "yes" then please stay home".

The order also restricts hours for non-essential retailers offering curbside pickup, and limits outdoor gatherings to a maximum of five people, instead of 10.

While London schools are not part of the new order for extended closures officials said that those slated to reopen on January 25, will be evaluated on a case by case basis.

Ford said the number of cases and deaths related to COVID-19 are at the highest since the start of the pandemic last spring. "I know the actions we announced today are hard, but they are absolutely necessary".

Forty per cent of Ontario's long-term care homes are experiencing outbreaks right now and one in 10 of the new cases reported in the province Tuesday occurred in long-term care.

Nearly 40% of long-term care homes have active COVID-19 outbreaks.

Six cases of the variant had previously been reported in Ontario.

Alberta had another decrease in new daily cases with 639, while Saskatchewan's infections continued to grow with 412 - bringing its weekly average of new daily cases to 307, the highest since last summer.

The variant is believed to spread more easily but does not cause more severe illness.

Trudeau also announced Tuesday that the Canada-U.