The official Stage 1 easing of Covid-19 restrictions in Ontario will start Tuesday, but some business reopenings will happen this weekend.
Today Premier Doug Ford announced that as of Saturday at 12:01 am, places like private parks, campgrounds, marinas and boat clubs, golf courses and businesses that board animals will be allowed to reopen.
That’s in advance of Tuesday when the Official Stage 1 Reopening starts.
That will include: All retail stores with street entrances that are not in shopping malls – with strict social distancing measures in place – as well as seasonal outdoor sports fields, tennis courts, animal shelters and off-leash dog parks, vets and pet grooming.
Businesses such as cleaning and maintenance jobs, scheduled surgeries, in-person counselling and essential construction will also restart.
For the full list of businesses being allowed to reopen across Stage 1, click here
“I want to be clear – that businesses should open only if they are ready,” said Ford. “We need to keep in mind that all of this is dependent on the numbers. The truth is, we cant fully predict where things will go, so we need to be ready to react if we see a sudden increase in cases. We cannot let our guard down now.”
Stage 1 will potentially see thousands return to work with a more solid foundation for economic recovery.
Ford says all reopenings are dependent on Covid-19 cases continuing to go down.
“We can’t let our guard down now,” he said. “We have to watch (the) trends like a hawk.”
Today, we released more details of our framework to reopen Ontario. We’re preparing employers, workers and families with the information they need to reopen for Stage 1 on Tuesday, May 19. https://t.co/RVaPF8tVeG pic.twitter.com/05MsN3Zl9u
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) May 14, 2020
To watch Premier Doug Ford’s full May 14th address, see below
Premier Ford Provides a COVID-19 Update https://t.co/HnRR9XoR1Y
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) May 14, 2020