![]() "How come I can go to the mall, but gyms are closing?" she said, citing the gym as her "mental health outlet." ![]() She questions whether some of the new restrictions even make sense. She, too, is frustrated with how this lockdown happened, hoping for more communication and wondering if restrictions would have been more effective before Christmas. Mohammed knows a bunch of people who got COVID over the holidays. She's saving money by living at home with family, while going to school online. "Those types of things are really scary to think about, because I'm supporting myself through all of this."Ģ0-year-old Zara Mohammed is shut out of two jobs during this latest lockdown, one at a restaurant and another at a brewery. Mohammed, 20, worries about paying for future semesters. "It's going to be another tough situation where I am using a lot of savings," said the third-year commerce student at Fanshawe College. Read the new restrictions that take effect Wednesday.Between the two, she was working four or five days a week. A full-time student in London, she's now out two jobs during this shutdown - one at a Thai restaurant, the other at a brewery. Some workers qualify for the federal government's Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit (CWLB), which temporarily offers $300 a week in income support. The province hasn't started any new initiatives for workers during this particular lockdown, but points to Employment Ontario and the Second Career program, funding tuition to help start a new job. Her workplace is still deciding whether to pay staff for missed shifts this lockdown or put everybody on layoff status. between a rock and a hard place, where I have to now delegate where my money is going," she said. That's on top of things like car payments and day-to-day expenses. She's planning to go to law school and needs to save up for that, too. (Submitted by Amanda Battaglia)īattaglia, 23, finished her undergraduate degree last June and is working to pay off her student loan. ![]() Restaurant office manager Amanda Battaglia last worked on Sunday and now has no more shifts on the schedule, because of Ontario's new COVID restrictions, which includes closing indoor dining. 26.Īs office manager, Battaglia has witnessed the effect of the latest wave first-hand - over the past few weeks, she has answered emails from work colleagues saying they tested positive. Places like gyms, theatres, museums, concert venues and galleries were also told to close until at least Jan. The Omicron variant has pushed Ontario's COVID case counts to record highs, forcing the province to scale back who gets tested, halt non-urgent medical procedures and move school online for two weeks. "I just wish would have reacted ahead of time instead of reacting when it's too late." ![]() "I'm just feeling a bit frustrated," she said. Ontario has banned indoor dining as of Wednesday, due to a surge in COVID-19 cases, and that means no more shifts for Battaglia, a part-time office manager at a restaurant in Etobicoke, a neighbourhood in Toronto's west end. This is the fourth time Amanda Battaglia is out of work since the pandemic began. ![]()
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