The next stage of Ontario's reopening will come on Friday, as people in some regions will be allowed to eat at restaurant patios, camp at private campgrounds or take a dip in a swimming pool. Notably excluded is the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, which continues to see the bulk of new COVID-19 cases in the province.
Also starting Friday at 12:01 a.m., the limit on social gatherings will increase from five to 10 people; and all places of worship will also be allowed to reopen as long as they follow physical distancing rules, including having no more than 30 per cent of the building capacity in attendance, Premier Doug Ford announced. These measures are not part of stage two, and will take effect everywhere in the province.
"I know that staying apart from our friends and loved ones has been one of the hardest parts of the last few months," Ford said, adding: "During these uncertain times, our faith has never been more important."
The premier had rejected a regional reopening before May 29, when he said he became "comfortable" with the idea, shortly after local medical officers of health banded together to influence reopening in their regions. Previously, Ford had said the risk was too great that people from higher-risk areas like Toronto would travel to reopened regions and spread the disease there, like what happened when New Yorkers fled the city, starting outbreaks elsewhere in the United States.
On Monday, Ford explicitly said that was okay.
“Yeah, that’s fine,” he told a reporter asking whether Torontonians could, say, head to Prince Edward County for a wine tasting. “They can travel.”
Regions under the following public health units will move into stage two on Friday:
- Algoma Public Health
- Brant County Health Unit
- Chatham-Kent Public Health
- Eastern Ontario Health Unit
- Grey Bruce Health Unit
- Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit
- Hastings Prince Edward Public Health
- Huron Perth Public Health
- Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Public Health
- Leeds Grenville & Lanark District Health Unit
- Middlesex-London Health Unit
- North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit
- Northwestern Health Unit
- Ottawa Public Health
- Peterborough Public Health
- Porcupine Health Unit
- Public Health Sudbury & Districts
- Region of Waterloo Public Health and Emergency Services
- Renfrew County and District Health Unit
- Simcoe-Muskoka District Health Unit
- Southwestern Public Health
- Thunder Bay District Health Unit
- Timiskaming Health Unit
- Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health
In those regions, the following businesses and services will be allowed to reopen, with safety measures in place:
- Outdoor dine-in services at restaurants, bars and other establishments, including patios, curbside, parking lots and adjacent properties;
- Select personal and personal care services with the proper health and safety measures in place, including tattoo parlours, barber shops, hair salons and beauty salons;
- Shopping malls under existing restrictions, including food services reopening for take-out and outdoor dining only;
- Tour and guide services, such as bike and walking, bus and boat tours, as well as tasting and tours for wineries, breweries and distilleries;
- Water recreational facilities such as outdoor splash pads and wading pools, and all swimming pools;
- Beach access and additional camping at Ontario Parks;
- Camping at private campgrounds;
- Outdoor-only recreational facilities and training for outdoor team sports, with limits to enable physical distancing.
- Drive-in and drive-through venues for theatres, concerts, animal attractions and cultural appreciation, such as art installations;
- Film and television production activities, with limits to enable physical distancing; and
- Weddings and funerals, with limits on social gatherings to 10 people.
The government promised more details soon on child-care, summer camps, post-secondary education pilots, training centres and public transit.
Health Minister Christine Elliott said that every Monday, the government will issue a "progress report" for every region still in stage one. If public health indicators improve — such as rates of community spread, hospital capacity and testing — the regions will be able to enter stage two the following Friday.
The province is still discussing household "bubbling," but Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams isn't ready to move forward with it yet, Elliott added.
In his afternoon presser, Williams teased a bubbling announcement soon.
“We are hoping to bring some information forward, hopefully even this week,” he said.
When it comes, it’ll likely be a province-wide announcement, not just in the stage two regions, he said.
Elliott said it was a good sign that the province saw only 243 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, though she noted that new cases were in the 400s and 500s not too long ago.
Associate Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Barbara Yaffe said Ontario has been seeing some encouraging trends — the number of hospitalized patients is going down, from 781 on June 1 to 603 on Monday. And while the number of tests are increasing, the province is “not seeing the number of new cases rising at the same rate.”
Local health officials are playing a "critical role in determining what areas can open," Ford said. "And I am confident that the rest of the province will get to stage two very, very soon.”
Drs. David Fisman and Colin Furness, epidemiologists with the University of Toronto who have been critical of parts of the Ford government's handling of the crisis, both praised the regional approach.
Furness said a regional reopening should have happened a while ago in places where there has been no community spread for a long time.
"The idea that the province had, that a million square kilometres and 15 million people would all be in the same timetable, was boneheaded. That never made any sense," he said.
He said he's not worried about GTHA residents spreading the disease since it has hit primarily marginalized populations who don't have the time or ability to go on trips.
"It's not wealthy people with cars and leisure time to go far afield. It's marginalized folks who are living in northern Etobicoke, northern Scarborough. We know what that looks like. There's poverty, there's essential work, they are working long hours in dangerous jobs," he said.
"And that's a real comment on the fact that in Toronto, we really need to pay attention to who needs our help."
Furness added that the government should direct businesses slated to reopen that they should prioritize the customers they know. "My advice to anyone outside the city is, don't deal with people from Toronto."
Ford advised the opposite, encouraging cottagers to patronize local businesses.
"I've heard from a lot of cottage country mayors that are saying, come up north," he said on Monday. "And before, they said bring your own supplies — now they're saying, come and shop in the local stores."
Ford denied that he could have moved on regional reopening faster. "I look back in hindsight and I think we made the right move," he said.
"All in all there is a lot to like in this plan, and as long as there’s good surveillance in place the good on regional opening FAR outweighs harm [in my opinion]," Fisman said on Twitter. "Also: provides a bit of a carrot/stick for non-opened regions to do better. It’s a good, reasonable, nuanced plan."
But people traveling from higher-risk places like Toronto to other regions is the "fly in the ointment," Fisman said. The OPP would have to enforce regional quarantines to keep people away, which "I think would be seen as overreach," he said.
All in all there is a lot to like in this plan, and as long as there’s good surveillance in place the good on regional opening FAR outweighs harm imo.
Also: provides a bit of a carrot/stick for non-opened regions to do better. It’s a good, reasonable, nuanced plan
— David Fisman (@DFisman) June 8, 2020
Following the lead of provinces like British Columbia, Quebec and Alberta, Ford also announced a moratorium on commercial evictions for landlords who qualify for the provincial-federal rent relief program, since some "didn't get the message" that they should be fair to their tenants.
“Well, I’m here for the little guy,” he said. The ban will be retroactive for evictions from June 3 to August 31, he said.
Ford said he was not looking at specific financial help for businesses forced to wait until future stages to open.
“We’re looking at financial help for everyone. We can't really just target on people in stage three versus stage two,” he said.
He reiterated that he has "all the confidence in the world" in Ontarians, including businesses, to follow the guidelines wherever they are in the province. "They're going to follow proper protocols, as they have from day one. That's the only reason we're able to get here."
Ontario Chamber of Commerce CEO Rocco Rossi thanked Ford for the moratorium and said he supports the regional plan.
“While we regret a commercial moratorium is necessary, we are thankful that the province has taken this step. It allows time for the program to be improved so that more landlords will participate in the program," he said in a statement. “We are also encouraged that the province (has) signalled its intention to announce a plan on childcare; this will be essential to a successful re-opening.”
Catherine Fife, the NDP's economic growth critic, said the moratorium is too restrictive, since a business needs to have lost 70 per cent of their income to qualify for the relief program. She called for direct rent support to commercial tenants, a six-month rent freeze and a fund to help with remote work.
"As this measure only begins on June 3, this does nothing to save the business owners who have already been evicted by their landlord during the pandemic," she added.
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath called for the inclusion of paid sick days in the reopening plan, "so that people aren’t faced with the choice of going to work sick or earning enough to put food on the table." The Ford government cancelled paid sick days in 2018.
“Ontarians have worked too hard to flatten the curve to watch all the progress we’ve made together squandered by a premier who refuses to protect workers,” Horwath said in a statement.
Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca slammed Ford for flip-flopping on regional reopening, and being "unclear" in communicating the reopening strategy.
"At first Doug Ford railed against regional reopening — now he’s for it," Del Duca said in a statement. "He said there was no systemic racism in Ontario — then changed his mind. At first Ford refused to take over long term care homes — now he’s taken over almost ten."
He called on Ford to outline "a clear and aggressive plan on contact tracing" to help stop further spread.
Green Leader Mike Schreiner said he supports the regional approach, but also said Ford needs to be clearer in his communication.
"We need clear physical distancing and public health guidelines so that people know how they can safely use all of the services and amenities that will be reopening," he said in a statement. "And if Stage 2 is to be a success, then the province cannot take its foot of the gas on proactive testing and contact tracing. Protecting people and public health must be our top priority."
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