City tells restaurants get set to reopen, even if they can’t yet

Thestar.com
June 8, 2020
Francine Kopun

Restaurants and personal care salons in the city are being asked to prepare for re-opening, even as the number of new COVID-19 infections in Toronto remains close to 200 a day and just under 350 in Ontario.

“To be clear, businesses are not permitted to begin operating yet , so you can’t go get your nails done or sit down for a meal at a restaurant, not yet,” said Mayor John Tory, speaking at Friday’s COVID-19 update from city hall.

Under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, businesses were shut by the province in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19 and will have to wait for the province to lift the order.

In preparation for that day, Toronto Public Health on Friday issued guidelines for re-opening which include requiring businesses to maintain social distancing practices, including spacing out tables in restaurants, installing plexiglass barriers where necessary and establishing practices for ensuring staff stay home when ill and that customers who are ill are denied entry, so as not to infect others.

Businesses are also being asked to keep logs of customers and staff when they re-open, so that if someone does become ill with COVID-19, those who may have been exposed to the virus can quickly be notified through contact tracing conducted by Toronto Public Health.

Tory said city staff will be communicating directly with businesses over the next week, either individually or through local Business Improvement Associations, to ensure that resumption of service can happen as quickly as possible once the provincial orders are lifted.

There are roughly 8,000 restaurants in Toronto and 3,350 personal care salons, including hair salons and nail salons. Except for restaurant take-out and delivery, the businesses have been closed since mid-March.

Toronto Medical Officer of Health Dr. Eileen de Villa reported at the press conference that the number of new infections in Toronto rose by 198 in 24 hours, but it’s not too early for businesses to start preparing to re-open.

“I think it’s important for people to have some hope and recognize that there are some things that can be done at the present time, even though we’re not yet at that point where we are re-opening restaurants for dine-in service or personal services settings like hair stylists and nail salons,” she said.

Yesterday Ontario announced that short-term rentals would be allowed to resume operations beginning on Friday.

Tory also announced at the press conference that he has asked Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders to fast-track body cameras for police officers, as protests over the recent death of a Black man at the hands of police in Minneapolis continued in the U.S. and in Canada, including Toronto.