This is an article from May 2020.
THUNDER BAY - More seasonal businesses and public areas will be permitted to reopen this May long weekend, as the province prepares to enter the first stage of its three-stage framework for reopening the economy next week.
During the daily media briefing on Thursday, Premier Doug Ford announced additional seasonal businesses and services will be permitted to reopen.
This includes private parks and campgrounds open to enable preparation for the season and to allow access for trailers and recreational vehicles whose owners have a full season contract, marinas, boat clubs, public boat launches, golf courses with clubs only open for washroom access and takeout food, and businesses that board animals such as stables.
Additionally, Ford announced that on Tuesday, May 19, 2020 the province will enter the first stage of its three-stage framework for reopening the economy.
The first stage will allow retail stores not in a shopping mall and with a street entrance to reopen to the public while limiting the number of customers in the store to ensure physical distancing can still be practiced.
Recreational activities with single competitors will be allowed to resume, including track and field, tennis, and horse racing with no spectators.
Animal services will resume, such as grooming and training, as well as household services such as cleaning, cooking, and maintenance.
All essential workplace limits will be lifted on construction projects and certain health care services will resume, including in-person counseling and scheduled surgeries.
“I want to be clear that businesses should only open if they are ready,” Ford said. “We need to keep in mind that all of this is dependent on the numbers. We can’t fully predict where things will go. We need to be ready to react if we see a sudden increase in cases. We must watch the trends like a hawk.”
Other businesses including restaurants, hair salons, barbershops, and massage therapists were not included in stage one of reopening, and Ford said it is too early to say at what stage these will be allowed to reopen.
"Yes, we are going to have to wait for restaurants," he said. "We are going to have to get the approval of the chief medical officer and the health team before opening up restaurants."
All businesses and services will be required to follow workplace guidelines to keep customers and employees safe.
The framework for reopening the province’s economy was announced last month and required at least two weeks of decreasing COVID-19 cases in the province before proceeding to each stage.
“Because of the collective efforts of all Ontarians we have made real and significant progress in the battle against COVID-19,” said Minister of Health Christine Elliott. “Our hospitals continue to maintain significant capacity. We have seen a substantial decrease in patients required to use ventilators or be admitted into ICU.”
Elliott added that the province will continue to ramp up testing, including the general public, in order to determine if reopening the province is resulting in more cases.
"We need to do more public surveillance testing to learn what effect these public openings are having," she said. "It is more of an emphasis on public testing that we need to have to understand what is happening in the community as we open up our economy."
Ford said with more businesses opening and more people returning to work, the risk of COVID-19 flare ups is real.
“So we need to stay vigilant,” he said. “We can’t take our progress for granted. We can’t ignore the health advice. We need to be ready to respond.”
"Today’s news is good news. Our efforts are paying off. As we follow the medical advice, if we take out time, and get it right, we will be able to open more businesses and get people back to work.”
More details will be released on stage two and stage three of the reopening framework in the coming weeks, but no firm timelines were given and it will rely on the number of COVID-19 cases in the province. If there is an increase in cases, based on advice from the chief medical officer of health, openings could be rolled back.
"There could be flareups," Ford said. "If the numbers change, we will have to change. We have to read and react. That is what the government is doing, that’s what the public is doing. We have to make sure we social distance."
