When the earth stood still: A look at Ontario’s 1st COVID-19 shutdowns

It’s been five years since the first COVID-19 lockdowns began in Ontario.

In the days leading up to March 17, 2020 — Ontario officially declared a state of emergency — businesses and governments were already issuing orders before formal lockdowns were introduced.

These measures were put into place to limit the virus’ spread, and were gradually lifted and sometimes reintroduced in the months that followed.

Here is what the province looked like during those days.

On Jan. 25, 2020, the first presumptive case of COVID-19 was reported in Ontario (and Canada) when a man in his 50s, who came from Wuhan, China, felt minor symptoms. He called 911 and was placed in isolation at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto.

His wife became the second case and began self-isolating the following day. The man’s illness is officially confirmed two days later.

Then, over the next few weeks, more cases popped up, and on March 11, 2020, a 77-year-old Barrie man died, becoming Ontario’s first death attributed to COVID-19.

The World Health Organization’s declaration of a global pandemic that same day, and set into motion policies that would upend the lives of Canadians for years to come – from closing borders to shutting down schools and businesses to banning social gatherings.

Then a day later, on March 12, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced that schools across the province would be closed for two weeks following March break. However, it would turn out that schools would remain closed for the remainder of the school year, and classes moved to online learning.

On March 14, 2020, Canadians who were out of the country were strongly urged by the federal government to return home as “new restrictions may be imposed with little warning.” Previously, the feds had urged Canadians to cancel or postpone non-essential trips.

Three days later, Ford declared a state of emergency in Ontario, ordering some businesses to be closed, including daycares, bars and restaurants, theatres, and private schools.

Over the coming weeks, all non-essential businesses closed, and thousands of people in Ontario will become infected with the virus.

This all led to a rollercoaster of restrictions being implemented and taken back over two years before the rollout of vaccines helped get things under control.

With files from Global News’ Kevin Neilson and The Canadian Press

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