An emergency stay-at-home order put in place to curb the spread of COVID-19 lifts for 27 Ontario’s 34 public health units today.

The units will now return to the province's COVID-19 colour-coded tiered ranking system used prior to a provincewide lockdown which began on Boxing Day.

Speaking to CTV’s Your Morning on Tuesday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the move to the tiered ranking system first used last year was a “transition” and did not constitute reopening.

“We’re still going to have the most restrictive restrictions right across the country. We are going to do this very slowly, we’re going to do it cautiously and we’re listening to our chief medical officer,” he said.

Niagara Region will be the only region in the grey-lockdown zone -- the most strict level -- which allows only select retail businesses to open at 25 per cent capacity.

The rest of the regions, most of them outside the Greater Toronto Area, fall elsewhere along the scale that moves from red -- the second-most strict level -- through green, with lighter restrictions on businesses and gatherings at each stage.

Toronto, Peel Region, York Region and North Bay Parry Sound are set to remain under the stay-at-home order until at least Feb. 22.

Ford said Tuesday those regions would be in the most restrictive tier of the framework, the “Grey” zone, when they move out of the stay at home order, possibly as soon as next week.

“Based on the Chief Medical Officer’s advice they’ll continue being in the grey lockdown area and we’re taking this very slowly and cautiously.”

Three health units -- Hastings Prince Edward; Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox and Addington; and Renfrew County -- returned to the green zone of the framework last week.

-- With files from The Canadian Press