BREAKING: Ontario will start Phase 1 of reopening next week
- Michael Kras
- 14 May 2020
An announcement this afternoon by Premier Doug Ford has revealed that the first phase of reopening the province and dropping some COVID-19 restrictions is set to begin on Tuesday, May 19th.
Weeks ago, Premier Ford unveiled the province’s general plan for reopening the economy and relaxing emergency orders; a plan intended to be carried out in three careful and conditional stages.
This first stage of reopening the economy province-wide will include the return of construction projects, reopening of select workplaces that can immediately accommodate COVID-19 health and safety measures, reopening of retail stores with street entrances that can accommodate social distancing, allowance of some outdoor recreational activities and sports, and restarting some scheduled surgeries and medical procedures.
#BREAKING Ontario Premier Doug Ford reveals next stage of his reopening plan for:
Parks
Retail Stores
Pet Grooming
Construction
Outdoor Sports Fields
Health & Medical ServicesFord says everything depends on the Covid19 numbers. #onpoli
More details: https://t.co/fYm1OXhVCD pic.twitter.com/UCePyOcnTg
— Natasha Fatah (@NatashaFatah) May 14, 2020
This initial reopening phase also includes the allowance of libraries to be open for pickup, the reopening of pet grooming services, and for property management services such as cleaning, maintenance, and painting to resume.
Businesses that are able to have staff working from home should also continue to do so for the time being.
Premier Ford also stresses that eligible businesses should only reopen if they are ready to do so, and that the province will continue to carefully watch COVID-19 case numbers during this first phase of reopening. Missteps resulting in new spikes of cases could quickly send the province back to square one.
This newly-announced plan to initiate the first phase of reopening has already drawn some public controversy; particularly from those unsure if the province has indeed met all necessary criteria for that first phase.
Ontario’s criteria for reopening the economy include consistent two-to-four week decreases in daily COVID-19 cases, sufficient availability of hospital capacity and personal protective equipment in the event of case surges, and an approximate 90 per cent of new case contacts reached by health officials within one day.
Read Ontario’s full reopening plan here.
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