Tuesday Will See More Services Opening

Ontario is cautiously reopening more stores, services and public areas.

Premier Doug Ford says enough progress has been made in slowing down COVID-19 that they are moving ahead next Tuesday with the next stage of reopening the economy.

The first of three stages will begin in Phase Two of Ontario’s three-part re-opening plan. Ford says this stage could last between two and four weeks.

“Businesses should open only if they’re ready,” Ford emphasizes.

Ford says the next wave of reopenings will take place May 18, including:

• Lifting essential workplace limits on construction and resuming all construction.
• Opening retail located outside of shopping malls with a separate street-front entrance, with restrictions to enable physical distancing which can include:
  • limiting the number of customers in a store at any one time or by square metre
  • booking appointments beforehand or on the spot
  • continuing to encourage curbside pickup or deliveries
• Opening motor vehicle dealerships, including:
  • new and used cars and trucks
  • motorcycles, boats and other motor and recreational vehicles, such as ATVs
• Allowing media operations, specifically:
  • music recording, including production, distribution, publishing and studios
  • interactive digital media, including programming and development
  • film and television post-production and animation studios
  • publishing, including newspapers, video games and books
  • Opening non-essential professional services related to conducting research and experimental development in physical, engineering and life sciences, such as biotechnology, agriculture and industrial research and development labs
• Allowing emissions inspection facilities to conduct heavy vehicle emissions testing.

Ontario will begin to restart outdoor, recreational and seasonal activities by:

• Further opening seasonal businesses, activities and services, such as:
• golf driving ranges
• recreational services at marinas
• rod and gun clubs
• cycling tracks

• Allowing sport activity for individual/single competitors, including training and competitions conducted by a recognized Provincial Sport Organization, National Sport Organization, or recognized national provincial training centres. This includes indoor and outdoor non-team sport competitions that can be played while maintaining physical distancing and without spectators, such as:
  • water sports on lakes and outdoor bodies of water (no swimming pool sports), such
    as rowing and sailing
  • low-contact racquet sports like tennis, badminton, pickleball and ping pong
  • athletics, such as track and field, gymnastics and figure skating
  • animal-related sports, such as horse racing

Ontario will gradually begin reopening health care, community and household services by:

• Gradually restarting health care services, which will need to ensure they maintain capacity to respond to COVID-19, including:
  • hospitals, independent health facilities, clinics and private practices providing scheduled surgeries and procedures, based on their ability to meet specified conditions, as outlined in A Measured Approach to Planning for Surgeries and Procedures During the COVID-19 Pandemic
  • supporting services for surgeries and procedures, such as diagnostics and post-acute rehab, based on their ability to meet specified conditions, as outlined in A Measured Approach to Planning for Surgeries and Procedures During the COVID-19 Pandemic
  • in-person counselling, including psychology and addictions counselling
  • resuming in-person services, in addition to virtual services, delivered by health professionals such as Children’s Treatment Centres
• Allowing services for animals and pets to resume, specifically:
  • pet care, including pet grooming, pet sitting and pet training
  • regular veterinary appointments
• Opening libraries for pickup or deliveries.
• Allowing indoor and outdoor household services that can follow public health guidelines
  to resume, including:
  • domestic services, such as housekeepers and cooks
  • lifting essential workplace limits on maintenance, repair and property management services, such as cleaning, painting, and pool maintenance

Private parks and campgrounds, marinas, golf courses, and other areas can operate starting this Saturday. At the same time, animal shelters and other businesses that board animals can also allow boarders to visit, care or, or ride their animals.