ONTARIO: Province will start economic reopening on Friday

TORONTO — Ontario will start its economic reopening a few days ahead of schedule on Friday, loosening restrictions on outdoor activities and businesses.

The province announced the move on Monday, saying health indicators have improved enough to begin lifting some pandemic restrictions.

Limited outdoor dining, outdoor fitness classes, outdoor religious services and camping can resume under the first step of the plan.

Outdoor gatherings of up to 10 people are also permitted and more retail businesses can open for in-person sales with capacity restrictions.

Premier Doug Ford thanked residents for their "enormous sacrifices" and credited the ongoing vaccine rollout for making the early move possible.

"As we begin to enjoy the benefits of the first step in our roadmap, like meeting friends on a patio or visiting your favourite local store, please do so safely by continuing to follow all public health guidelines," Ford said in a statement.

The changes will take effect at 12:01 a.m. on Friday.

The province had originally planned to move to the first step of its reopening plan next week.

It said 72 per cent of adults in Ontario had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as of Sunday night, placing the province ahead of its 60 per cent target set for the reopening date.

Daily COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations had also declined, the province said in a news release, with those trends expected to continue "in the coming days."

Ontario reported 525 new COVID-19 cases and 15 deaths from the virus on Monday, with 547 COVID-19 patients hospitalized.

The province will follow a three-step reopening plan throughout the summer as it climbs out of a harsh third wave of the pandemic.

Restrictions are expected to lift further after at least 21 days, based on vaccination rates and other health indicators.

Ford suggested last week that the reopening might come ahead of schedule, though top officials warned a new, more infectious variant that first appeared in India would have to be monitored.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 7, 2021.

The Canadian Press