March 18, 2020

March 18th is the 78th day of the year. There are 288 days remaining until the end of the year.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford declared a state of emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic yesterday.

It will be in effect until March 31st.

The declaration means the province is now banning organized events of 50 or more people and closing the following:

• Facilities providing recreational programs
• Libraries
• Private Schools
• Licensed child care centres
• Bars and restaurants (takeout and delivery permitted)
• Theatres, cinemas and concert venues
• Places of worship.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to make another announcement today.

Gas Price Wizard, Dan McTeague is saying that gas prices will drop by 8 cents per litre across most of Canada today.

⛽️ Price ⚠️ #GasPrices to FALL 8 cents a litre on average across most of 🇨🇦 Wednesday. Look to record low prices for #Toronto #GTA #Ottawa #LdnOnt #Montreal #Hamilton #Vancouver #Calgary #Edmonton #Saskatoon #Winnipeg (to 76.9 cents a litre for the #GTA)

— Dan McTeague (@GasPriceWizard) March 16, 2020

Starting Thursday, the LCBO will cut back their hours. They’ll be open 11-6 daily.

Costco is going to stay open during the coronavirus outbreak. The store is changing its policy and is going to control the number of people allowed in at one time in order to cut down on panic buying and unruly behavior.

Hudson’s Bay & The Bay closing stores for the next two weeks.

Ontario distiller Dillon’s has retooled in a crisis and is making alcohol for disinfecting and hand sanitizer instead of its usual gin. Any essential organization or individual that needs some, they want them to reach out. They have over 1000 bottles ready.

Apple retail stores, Sephora, Foot Locker and Bath & Body Works are the latest retail outlets to announce they’re closing all of their North American stores because of the coronavirus

Tom Brady officially left the Patriots yesterday, after they were unable to come to terms on a new contract.

Brady thanked the team and the fans. Over his 20-year career with the Patriots, Brady went to the Super Bowl nine times, and won six.

Tom is 42, and he’s repeatedly said that he wants to play until he’s 45, but apparently, he and the Patriots didn’t see eye-to-eye on a new, multi-year deal. So, Brady is moving on to a “new stage,” and according to reports, he’s already signed a deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which is worth $30 million a year.

LOVE YOU PATS NATION pic.twitter.com/lxSQZmnjPL

— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) March 17, 2020

 Sony is unveiling the Playstation 5 today.

The PlayStation 5, Sony’s next-generation game console that’s deep in production, is scheduled to launch during the 2020 holiday season.

The first details are expected to be released today at noon. You can watch the announcement live here.

Categorised in: 5 Things You Need To Know

This post was written by Chris McLeod