The province-wide shutdown means that schools will be remain closed after the holiday break - with students doing their learning remotely until they return to the classroom.

Elementary students will return to in-person schooling on January 11th, while high schools will reopen on January 25th.

Prior to Monday's announcement from the provincial government, the chair of the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board joined Bill Kelly to address the public board's level of preparedness for remote learning after the holidays.

What will happen to businesses with another lockdown?

GUEST:  Keanin Loomis, President & CEO, Hamilton Chamber of Commerce

the Ontario government is currently planning to implement a provincewide lockdown beginning Christmas Eve.

The announcement is expected to come Monday afternoon at Queen’s Park from Premier Doug Ford.

According to sources briefed on the plans, as of Sunday afternoon, the government was expecting to implement a 28-day lockdown for most of the province, while the north would be subject to a two-week lockdown.

As part of the plans, elementary-age school children would not return to classes as scheduled after the holidays but would spend the first week of school in the new year at home doing virtual learning and then return on Jan. 11.

GUEST: Dr. Brent Belchetz, ER Physician and Senior Fellow at the Fraser Institute

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Why is Hamilton in lockdown as of today?

The province announced Friday that five health units will be moving to levels of its COVID-19 framework with higher restrictions.

That list included Hamilton, which will move from red to the grey as of 12:01 a.m. Monday.

Dr. Elizabeth Richardson, Hamilton's medical officer of health, had already implemented more stringent measures above and beyond red zone restrictions, including businesses having to screen customers before they enter retail stores.

The decision to move the city in lockdown "wasn't an easy one, but a necessary one," she said in a media release Friday.

GUEST: Paul Johnson, Director of Emergency Centre, City of Hamilton

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The chair of Hamilton's public school board supports asymptomatic testing in Hamilton schools as the number of COVID-19 cases in local students and staff continue to rise.

Hamilton schools reported 10 more cases on Friday — that's 45 cases in four days.

ALSO: Potential school closures with 1pm announcement

GUEST: Dawn Danko, HWDSB Chair

The Ontario government has released its funding plan to meet an average four-hour care standard commitment in long-term care homes across the province.

Speaking at a news conference on Thursday, Premier Doug Ford said the province would be committing to $1.9 billion in funding annually by 2024-25 to create more than 27,000 new positions in the industry, including personal support workers, registered nurses, and registered practical nurses.

GUEST: Dr. Vivian Stamatopoulos, professor at Ontario Tech University and long-term care advocate

The Ontario government has released its some of its plan to improve the experience of living in a long-term care home in the province. The problem comes from the fact that while residents in 5 years will be taken care of, today's residents might not have that long.

Guest: Dr. Vivian Stamatopoulos, Associate Professor, Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, Ontario Tech University & long-term care advocate

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Hamilton's Chief of Police gave a surprise announcement saying he'll be retiring. What's next for Hamilton's police force and where does he see policing in our community going?

Guest: Chief Eric Girt, Hamilton's Chief of Police

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With people stuck at home, more are turning to video games and online fitness to keep their attention occupied and their bodies busy. How are video games becoming more and more mainstream?

Guest: Dr. Kristopher Alexander a.k.a. 'The Video Games Prof', Professor, RTA School of Media, Ryerson University