Ontario will move to next stage of reopening ‘as soon as possible,’ Christine Elliott says

Thestar.com
July 2, 2020
Robert Benzie

Hurry up and wait.

Public health officials need at least another week of encouraging COVID-19 data before knowing whether it will be safe for any region of Ontario to enter the next stage of reopening the economy.

With nearly all of the province in stage two -- meaning most businesses are allowed to open and restaurants can serve meals on patios -- Health Minister Christine Elliott said she understands the eagerness to further lift restrictions.

“Things have been going quite well in stage two, but we’re only several weeks into it,” Elliott told reporters at Queen’s Park on Tuesday.

“We still need the data from about another week to really understand if there’s cause for any concerns, anything that’s causing outbreaks. We have to assess it on a daily basis to understand where we are with it,” she said.

“But we are having discussions about going into the next phase, whether we do it across the province, whether we do it regionally. So, we hope to be able to move into the next stage as soon as possible.”

Elliott noted that a spike among migrant workers in Essex farm country, the last part of Ontario still in stage one, has underscored the need for caution and emphasized there is “no timeline” to move to stage three.

That means outdoor playground equipment will remain off limits to children.

“Playground equipment has been more difficult because there are little people climbing on it. It’s very difficult to disinfect it on a regular basis, but it is something that we are considering for the next stage in our reopening as we move from stage two to stage three,” she said.

Premier Doug Ford said he appreciated parents’ frustration at the lack of summer activities for their children due to the pandemic.

“I’m even getting lobbied by Santa Claus right now. I really am. Not a word of exaggeration,” the premier said, referring to the operators of Santa’s Village, a venerable Muskoka theme park that cannot yet reopen.

 

“One of my favourite spots when my kids were younger is Santa’s Village. Santa Claus is getting restless up there, but he knows the safety of his kids are number one priority,” he said.

Officials are keeping watchful eyes on the U.S., where infections have been spiking after several states opened up large segments of their economies without meeting federal guidelines for decreasing case levels.

“Although cases of COVID-19 continue to decline in Canada, the increase of infections in many other countries is a reminder how quickly things can change, and how quickly this virus can spread,” said Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer. “We must all remain vigilant.”

The Ministry of Health reported Tuesday that 21 of Ontario’s 34 public health units had no new cases of COVID-19, including all of northwest and northeast and most of eastern Ontario, where the Kingston region had five.

Health units with the largest increases in the GTA were Toronto with 47, Peel with 31, York with 21 and Hamilton with 14.

Moving to the third stage as outlined in Ontario’s “framework for reopening the economy” would also mean further relaxing rules on public gatherings, which are currently limited to 10 people.

However, larger event-like concerts and sporting events would continue to be restricted for the foreseeable future.

Ontario’s state of emergency, in place since March 17, is scheduled to expire on July 15.