Stage one of Ontario’s road to recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic begins Tuesday.
Retail stores located outside of shopping malls and with separate, street-front entrances can reopen if they feel they are ready.
Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, Vic Fedeli warns they will have to follow a very tough set of guidelines.
“Following the 6 foot or the 2 metre distance. You can work with 2 people per 4 square metres, which is about 40 square feet. So there are always the social distancing requirements that are absolutely necessary in these retails stores.”
Fedeli notes businesses can also offer online and curbside service.
Finance Minister Rod Phillips says moving to stage 2 and 3 will all depend on the COVID-19 numbers.
Phillips says their plan is to move forward in consultation and with the advice of their Chief Medical Officer.
Premier Doug Ford says other businesses, like barbershops and hairdressers, will have to wait.
“I look like a sheep dog right now. I think dog grooming, I should go there, get a little clip myself. Because everyone wants to go and get their hair done but we have to make sure safety comes first. Especially in those close quarters when you have a hairdresser or barber right over top of you cutting your hair. We are going to have to hold off on that for a little while.”
Ford notes we will likely see increased COVID-19 cases because testing has been ramped up and they will act on the advice of their medical experts.
Here is a full list of who can and can’t reopen:
May 19
Construction
All construction to resume and essential workplace limits lifted, includes land surveyors.
Retail
In addition to retail operating online, or with curbside pickup and delivery, all retail can open under the following restrictions and guidelines:
-No indoor malls
-Must have a street-front entrance
-Open in-store by appointment and/or by limiting the number of people in the store at any one time. Retailers would need to restrict the number of customers per square metre to ensure physical distancing of 2 metres at all times.
-Only fitting rooms with doors would be used, not curtains, to facilitate disinfecting. Retailers will need to restrict use to every second fitting room at any one time to allow for cleaning after use and ensure physical distancing.
Vehicle dealerships and retailers
-New and used car, truck, and motorcycle dealers.
-Recreational vehicle (RV) dealers (e.g., campers, motor homes, trailers, travel trailers).
-Boat, watercraft and marine supply dealers.
-Other vehicle dealers of motorized bicycles, golf carts, scooters, snowmobiles, ATV’s, utility trailers, etc.
Media operations
-Office-based media operations involving equipment that does not allow for remote working. This includes:
-Sound recording, such as production, distribution, publishing, studios
-Film and television post-production, film and television animation studios
-Publishing: periodical, book, directory, software, video games
-Interactive digital media, such as computer systems design and related services (e.g., programming, video game design and development)
-Media activities that can be completed while working remotely have been encouraged to continue during the Restart phase
-Filming or other on-site activities, especially those that require the gathering of workers, performers or others are not permitted to resume in Stage 1
Scheduled surgeries (public and private facilities)
-Non-emergency diagnostic imaging and surgeries in public hospitals, private hospitals and independent health facilities, clinics, and private practices to resume based on ability to meet specified pre-conditions including the MOH framework: A Measured Approach to Planning for Surgeries and Procedures During the COVID-19 Pandemic, contains clear criteria that must be met before hospitals can resume scheduled surgeries.
-Scheduled surgical and procedural work to resume once “Directive #2 for Health Care Providers (Regulated Health Professionals or Persons who operate a Group Practice of Regulated Health Professionals)” is amended or revoked, which relies on hospitals meeting criteria outlined in A Measured Approach to Planning for Surgeries and Procedures During the COVID-19.
Health services
-Allowing certain health and medical services to resume, such as in-person counselling and scheduled surgeries based on the ability to meet pre-specified conditions as outlined in A Measured Approach to Planning for Surgeries and Procedures During the COVID-19 Pandemic, as well as resuming professional services such as shifting Children’s Treatment Centres from virtual to in-person.
-In-person counselling to resume including psychotherapy and other mental health and support services. Some of these services were available in-person for urgent needs. For example:
-Addiction counselling
-Crisis intervention
-Family counselling
-Offender rehabilitation
-Palliative care counselling
-Parenting services
-Rape crisis centres
-Refugee services
Community services
-Libraries for pick-up or delivery
Outdoor recreational amenities
-Marinas can resume recreational services
-Pools will remain closed
-Individual recreational sports
-Outdoor recreational sports centres for sports not played in teams will open with limited access to facilities (e.g., no clubhouse, no change rooms, washrooms and emergency aid only). Examples of sports centres include:
-Tennis courts
-Rod and gun clubs
-Cycling tracks (including BMX)
-Horse riding facilities
-Indoor rod and gun clubs and indoor golf driving ranges
-Individual sports competitions without spectators
-Professional and amateur sport activity for individual/single competitors, including training and competition conducted by a recognized Provincial Sport Organization, National Sport Organization, or recognized national Provincial training centres (e.g., Canadian Sport Institute Ontario) with return to play protocols in place and no spectators, except for an accompanying guardian for a person under the age of 18 years.
This includes indoor and outdoor non-team sport competitions that can be played under physical distancing measures. This includes:
-Water sports on lakes and outdoor bodies of water
-Racquet sports, such as tennis, ping pong, badminton
-Animal-related sports, such as dog racing, agility, horse racing
-Other sports such as: track and field, car and motorcycle racing, figure skating, fencing, rock climbing, gymnastics, etc.
-Swimming pools will remain closed. As a result, water-based sports competitions are excluded if not conducted on lakes or outdoor bodies of water.
-High-contact sports are not allowed even if they are non-team. These include sports where physical distancing cannot be practiced such as:
-Racquetball, squash, boxing, wrestling sports, martial arts, etc.
Professional services related to research and development
-Professional services related to conducting research and experimental development in physical, engineering and life sciences including electronics, computers, chemistry, oceanography, geology, mathematics, physics, environmental, medicine, health, biology, botany, biotechnology, agriculture, fisheries, forestry, pharmacy, veterinary and other allied subjects. For example:
-Agriculture, food research, horticulture or botany, entomological, forestry, livestock, veterinary research and development laboratories.
-Bacteriological, biotechnology, chemical, nanobiotechnology, pharmacy, genetics, genomics, computational biology, research and development laboratories.
-Computer and related hardware, electronic, telecommunication research and development services.
-Geology, oceanographic, pollution research and development, and astronomical observatories.
-Mathematics research and development.
-Industrial research and development laboratories.
Emissions inspection facilities
-All emissions inspection facilities for heavy diesel commercial motor vehicles, including mobile inspection facilities.
Veterinary services
-Veterinary services can resume all services by appointment.
Animal services
-Pet grooming services
-Pet sitting services
-Dog walking services
-Pet training services
-Training and provision of service animals
-Effective May 16, 2020, businesses that board animals (e.g., stables) may allow boarders to visit, care for, or ride their animal
Indoor and outdoor household services
-Private households could now employ workers on or about the premises in activities primarily concerned with the operation of the household such as:
-Domestic services: housekeepers, cooks, maids, butlers, personal affairs management, nanny services, babysitters, other domestic personnel, etc.
-Cleaning and maintenance service: house cleaning, indoor/outdoor painting, window cleaning, pool cleaning, general repairs.
Maintenance
-General maintenance, and repair services can resume, and are no longer limited to “strictly necessary” maintenance.
