Ontario will be moving into Step One of its Roadmap to Reopen.
It’ll all start at 12:01 a.m. on Friday June 11, three days earlier than initially planned.
“Thanks to the ongoing success of Team Ontario’s vaccine rollout and the ongoing improvements in public health trends, we are able to enter step one of the Roadmap and begin to safely and cautiously lift restrictions,” said Premier Doug Ford.
It was initially planned that the province needed to vaccinate 60 per cent of adults with at least one dose for two weeks or longer to enter phase two. As of June 6 at 8:00pm, 72 percent of adults in the province received their first dose of their COVID-19 vaccine.
More than 10 million vaccines have been administered in Ontario.
Step One of the Roadmap includes
- Outdoor social gatherings and organized public events with up to 10 people;
- Outdoor religious services, rites, or ceremonies, including wedding services and funeral services, capped at the number of people that can maintain a physical distance of two metres;
- Indoor religious services, rites, or ceremonies, including wedding services and funeral services permitted at up to 15 per cent capacity of the particular room;
- Non-essential retail permitted at 15 per cent capacity, with no restrictions on the goods that can be sold;
- Essential and other select retail permitted at 25 per cent capacity, with no restrictions on the goods that can be sold;
- Outdoor dining with up to four people per table, with exceptions for larger households;
- Outdoor fitness classes, outdoor groups in personal training and outdoor individual/team sport training to be permitted with up to 10 people, among other restrictions;
- Day camps for children permitted to operate in a manner consistent with the safety guidelines for COVID-19 produced by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health;
- Overnight camping at campgrounds and campsites, including Ontario Parks, and short-term rentals;
- Concert venues, theatres and cinemas may open outdoors for the purpose of rehearsing or performing a recorded or broadcasted concert, artistic event, theatrical performance or other performance with no more than 10 performers, among other restrictions;
- Outdoor horse racing tracks and motor speedways permitted to operate without spectators; and
- Outdoor attractions such as zoos, landmarks, historic sites, botanical gardens with capacity and other restrictions.
Minister of Health Christine Elliot stressed there is still work to be done even with the step in the right direction this week.
“While this is exciting news, it remains critical that all Ontarians continue to follow public health advice and roll up their sleeves to receive the vaccine.”
