According to CP24, Canadian Premier Doug Ford announced today that the province’s state of emergency, declared last month, will not be extended and will expire this Tuesday. Meanwhile, Ontario will gradually transition each region to its “color-coded,” five-phase reopening plan. A large number of businesses will be allowed to reopen in three areas of Ontario this week.
As of 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 10, Home-based orders will be lifted for three public health departments in eastern Ontario, including
Hastings Prince Edward Public Health region (Hastings).
Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Public Health Authority Region (Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Pubilic).
Renfrew County and District Health Unit (RCHU) area.
These three areas will be transferred to the province’s Green “Prevention” Zone, which will allow all retail stores, haircutters, restaurants, bars, gymnasiums and movie theatres to reopen and resume private indoor gatherings.
The home-based order will remain in place until February 22 in Toronto, Peel Region and York Region. Outside of these three areas, the homeownership order will remain in effect until February 16, when some restrictions will be lifted. When each area’s home order expires, the public health department will then assess the local situation and assign it to the appropriate phase of the “color code.
The provincial government said that after the last public health authority enters the reopening program, areas across the province will have to wait at least 28 days for further easing of health restrictions.
While the reopening plan remains relatively unchanged from when the province first announced it last year, all types of retailers will now be allowed to operate during the gray “lockdown” phase. Pharmacies, convenience stores and stores that primarily sell groceries will be able to operate at 50 per cent capacity during the gray “lockout” phase, while all other retailers will be able to operate at 25 per cent capacity. In the red “control” phase, the figures are 75 percent and 50 percent, respectively.
Our number one priority will always be to protect the health and safety of all people, families and workers across the province,” Governor Ford said in a press release issued Monday. But we must also consider the serious impact COVID-19 will have on our economy. That’s why we’ve been listening to business owners and we’re strengthening and adjusting the restart plan to allow more businesses to safely reopen and put people back to work.”
David Williams, chief health officer, said that while case numbers are down, we are still in a precarious position because virus variants remain a serious risk. “This is not a reopening ‘back to normal’ and we must continue to limit exposure and stay at home unless necessary.”
The ban on residential evictions remains in effect under the homeownership order. The Ontario government will also implement an “emergency brake” that will allow Ontario’s chief health officer to place an area on lockdown as soon as there is a surge of new cases in that area.
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