Ontario lockdown means these workers are out of a job again

This is the fourth time Amanda Battagliais out of work since the pandemic began.

Ontariohas banned indoor dining as of Wednesday, due to a surge in COVID-19 cases, and that meansno more shifts forBattaglia,a part-time office manager at a restaurant in Etobicoke, a neighbourhood inToronto's west end.

"I'm just feeling a bit frustrated," she said. "I just wish [Premier Doug Ford] would have reacted ahead of time instead of reacting when it's too late."

It's not that she didn't expect it. The Omicron variant has pushed Ontario's COVID case counts to record highs, forcing the province to scale back who gets tested, haltnon-urgent medical procedures and moveschool online for two weeks.

Places like gyms, theatres, museums, concertvenues and galleries were also told to close until at least Jan. 26.

As office manager, Battagliahas witnessed theeffectof the latest wavefirst-hand over the past few weeks, she has answeredemailsfrom work colleagues saying they tested positive.

Still, the shutdownstings.

Battaglia, 23, finished her undergraduate degree last June and is working to pay off her student loan. She's planning to go to law schooland needs to save up for that, too. That's on top of things like car payments and day-to-dayexpenses.

"I'm kind of ...between a rock and a hard place, where I have to now delegate where my money is going," she said.

Her workplace is still deciding whether to paystaff for missed shifts this lockdown or put everybody on layoff status.

'Just the end for us, for now'

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. Some workers qualify forthe federal government'sCanada Worker Lockdown Benefit(CWLB), which temporarily offers$300 a weekin income support.

Zara Mohammed plans to apply. A full-timestudent in London, she's now out two jobs during this shutdown one at a Thai restaurant, the other at a brewery. Between the two, she was working four or five days a week.

• Readthe new restrictions that takeeffect Wednesday

"It's going to be another tough situation where I am using a lot of savings," said the third-year commerce student at FanshaweCollege. Mohammed, 20, worries about paying for future semesters.

"Those types of things are really scary to think about, because I'm supporting myself through all of this."

She's saving money by living at homewith family, while going to school online. She, too, is frustrated with how thislockdown happened, hopingformore communicationand wondering ifrestrictions would have been more effective before Christmas.Mohammed knows a bunch of people who got COVID over the holidays.

She questions whether some of the newrestrictions even make sense.

"How come I can go to the mall, but gyms are closing?" she said, citing the gym as her"mental health outlet."

"It really says a lot about their priorities, because if anything, I could just shop online."

'It just sucks'

Mohammed is doing her best to stay optimistic. She's fondly thinking about this pastsummer and fall, when she could hang out with friends and go to concerts.

"Now, I'm double-masking whenever I go out to the grocery store," she said."It really feels like the beginning all over again," meaning March 2020.

Rob Grady is feeling similarly. He's been"temporarily" laid off from his job at a Cineplex movie theatrenear his home in Burlington, Ont.

"People got to pay rent. People have mortgages to pay. People have to feed their kids," he said."It's tough to manage through all this, especially when you're not sure when there's going to be any normalcy again."

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Grady, 27, went to school fortheatre and willuse his layoff to work on his passion, voice acting.

"I feel like such a privileged douchebag saying that, because ... so many people are going through harder times," he said. Unable to afford Toronto rent, Gradywas able to move back in with his parents during the pandemic.

"Yes, it's difficult for me. I'm not rich or anything,but there's so many people in such worse situations, and that just sucks."

With cinemas ordered closed for at least three weeks, Grady's not sure when he'll be back at work. He thinks it will be longer than what the province is suggesting.

"I hope for everyone's sake that this isn't as bad as it seems to be."