Time to reopen economy, York Region mayors say

Thestar.com
May 31, 2021

The date for Ontario to move ahead with reopening may still be weeks away, but York Region’s mayors and regional councillors don’t want to wait.

With COVID-19 case counts dropping and an underground economy growing, regional council passed a motion May 27 asking the province to move more quickly into stage one of its reopening plan.

“I think we need to send a strong message to the province,” said Aurora Mayor Tom Mrakas, who put forward the motion that passed 18-2. “They listen to resolutions that come out of this council … Hopefully this gives that little bit of a nudge, gives them a little bit of a push knowing that one of the biggest regions in the GTHA area is looking for us to open up Step One sooner.”

The province’s original Stay-at-Home order was to expire June 2.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced May 20 a new provincial “Roadmap to Reopen” that would begin -- likely June 14 -- once 60 per cent of the adult population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and health indicators showed it was safe to move ahead.

Ontario has surpassed that vaccination mark, with 65 per cent of adults having received a first dose as of May 27.

York Region has vaccinated more than 70 per cent of its adult population with a first dose and case rates hospitalization and ICU admissions of York Region residents are declining.

The motion was seconded by Stouffville Mayor Iain Lovatt, who noted Step One is more restrictive than the former Grey Zone.

Step One focuses on outdoor activities with smaller crowds. Outdoor gatherings of up to 10 people can take place and outdoor dining of up to four people per table will resume on restaurant patios. Non-essential retail can also reopen at 15 per cent capacity.

“We’re just trying to get the process started sooner,” Lovatt said. “This will just open up very few things and keep us being able to move forward in a balanced and more measured way that still keeps everyone safe.”

Dr. Karim Kurji, the region’s medical officer of health, said he supports the idea.

At Thursday’s council meeting, he raised concerns about an increase in “underground activities” -- some occurring in gyms that find loopholes in the regulations, personal service settings that have been noticed in residential areas, and indoor dining occurring after hours.

Kurji said he is encouraged by modelling data that suggests a fourth wave is unlikely with reopening as of June 2.

It’s possible York Region could be at about 20 cases per day in the near future, he said.

“From my personal standpoint, it’s going to be quite a challenge to be able to manage the underground economy, plus, the expectations of people when you only have case counts of 10 or 20 a day for the bulk of the summer, because according to the current plan, it is not likely restaurants would be allowed to open for well into July and many other areas that will be curtailed.”

However he cautioned that hospital ICU capacities are still “fairly stressed” and continue to accept patients from Manitoba.

Some areas of the province -- like a health unit in Timmins area -- are experiencing a surge in cases. With a population of 80,000, they are seeing about 40 cases a day, he said.

“If I happened to be the medical officer of health for that particular health unit I would be very nervous about reopening just now.”

The province appears inclined to use a provincewide approach to reopening this time he said.

Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti had words of caution, saying the province put a lot of thought into the three-step re-opening plan and coronavirus could still bring surprises -- like variants -- that bump up cases and hospitalizations.

“No one wants a fourth wave. Businesses don’t want a fourth wave, certainly communities and families don’t. The sun is coming out, but we want to make sure that once it’s out, it stays out.”