Premier Doug Ford announced on Monday that the Ontario government is imposing a provincewide shutdown that will go into effect on Dec. 26 at 12:01 a.m. The shutdown will be in effect for 14 days for Northern Ontario and 28 days for Southern Ontario. Additional restrictions will be put into place and reinforce that Ontarians should stay at home as much as possible to minimize transmission of the virus and prevent hospitals from becoming overwhelmed. "The number of daily cases continue to rise putting our hospitals and long-term care homes at risk," said Ford. "We need to stop the spread of this deadly virus. That's why, on the advice of Dr. Williams and other health experts, we are taking the difficult but necessary decision to shutdown the province and ask people to stay home. Nothing is more important right now than the health and safety of all Ontarians."