'Too slow of a reopening agenda': York Region continues to pressure province to ease restrictions

Stage one reopening now expected to happen June 7, a week earlier than anticipated

Newmarkettoday.ca
June 4, 2021
Joseph Quigley

York Region politicians and the medical officer of health are continuing to urge the province to hasten reopening even with restrictions expected to begin loosening on June 7.

Dr. Karim Kurji said although it is now expected the province will move to stage one of its reopening plan by June 7 -- one week earlier than originally anticipated -- it is still not going quickly enough.

Stage one will allow for outdoor patio dining of up to four people, limited non-essential retail, and outdoor gatherings of up to 10 people, Kurji said at a special regional council meeting this morning, June 3.

Given the decline in cases and other key metrics, York Region could now safely reopen gyms and personal care with specific limitations, rather than wait until July, he said.

“We are at (COVID-19) levels we haven’t seen for many, many months,” Kurji said. “That is too slow of a reopening agenda.”

The region has 432 active cases as of June 2. Meanwhile, Newmarket is at 30 active cases and had a second day with zero new cases this week.

Kurji said although he supported the reopening of schools, the provincial decision June 2 to keep them closed offers more reasons to loosen restrictions elsewhere.

“I would hope the province would actually reopen fairly fast as we get through the various vaccination targets,” he said. “We should really be fairly safe."

Newmarket Mayor John Taylor said the door is open to a stage one reopening earlier than June 14, based on a conversation he had with Premier Doug Ford this week. But he urged fellow regional councillors to put the pressure on over the next few days.

“Getting some input from all of us over the next three days could make a difference,” Taylor said. “I would just encourage everyone to do that because we know how important this is to our small businesses.”

York Region Chair Wayne Emmerson echoed the sentiment.

“It is time to open up and get things to somewhat a little bit more normal,” he said. “That will help the mental illness that we’re going to see going forward.”