Stage 1 of reopening Ontario: Here’s what you need to know

The Ontario government, in consultation with the chief medical officer of health, will move the province into Step One of its Roadmap to Reopen on Friday, June 11, a few days ahead of schedule.

The move is based on the provincewide vaccination rate and continuing improvements in key public health and health system indicators, including the vaccination of 60 per cent of adults with at least one dose for two weeks or longer, ensuring the first dose offers a strong level of protection against COVID-19. 

As of June 6 at 8:00 p.m., 72 per cent of the 18+ population in Ontario had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine with over 10 million doses now having been administered.

“Thanks to the ongoing success of Team Ontario’s vaccine rollout and the ongoing improvements in public health trends, we are able to enter step one of the Roadmap and begin to safely and cautiously lift restrictions,” said Premier Doug Ford in a release.

Before entering Step One, the province said it also needed to see continued improvement in key public health and health system indicators. During the period of May 25 to 31, the provincial case rate decreased by 35.1 per cent. 

As of June 6, the number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs is 497, including 31 patients from Manitoba, as compared to 687 two weeks ago. The province’s situation is currently exceeding the best-case scenario presented in recent modelling, which indicated the province would reach below 1,000 new daily infections by June 30.

Step 1 reopening plans are focused on low-risk outdoor activities with small crowds. It will also permit more limited indoor settings to be open, all with restrictions in place. In consultation with the chief medical officer of health, the Ontario government has amended Step 1 to also permit indoor religious services, rites and ceremonies, including wedding and funeral services limited to 15 per cent capacity.

Step 1 of the Roadmap to Reopen includes (but is not limited to):

• Outdoor social gatherings and organized public events with up to 10 people;
• Outdoor religious services, rites, or ceremonies, including wedding services and funeral services, capped at the number of people that can maintain a physical distance of two metres;
• Indoor religious services, rites, or ceremonies, including wedding services and funeral services permitted at up to 15 per cent capacity of the particular room;
• Non-essential retail permitted at 15 per cent capacity, with no restrictions on the goods that can be sold;
• Essential and other select retail permitted at 25 per cent capacity, with no restrictions on the goods that can be sold;
• Outdoor dining with up to four people per table, with exceptions for larger households;
• Outdoor fitness classes, outdoor groups in personal training and outdoor individual/team sport training to be permitted with up to 10 people, among other restrictions;
• Day camps for children permitted to operate in a manner consistent with the safety guidelines for COVID-19 produced by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health;
• Overnight camping at campgrounds and campsites, including Ontario Parks, and short-term rentals;
• Concert venues, theatres and cinemas may open outdoors for the purpose of rehearsing or performing a recorded or broadcasted concert, artistic event, theatrical performance or other performance with no more than 10 performers, among other restrictions;
• Outdoor horse racing tracks and motor speedways permitted to operate without spectators; and
• Outdoor attractions such as zoos, landmarks, historic sites, botanical gardens with capacity and other restrictions.

In addition, to support students who have worked incredibly hard throughout the pandemic, the government is enabling school boards for public and private elementary and high schools to invite students back for a brief outdoor end-of-year celebration. Any in-person school year celebrations will need to meet specific requirements.

The province will remain in Step 1 for at least 21 days to evaluate any impacts on key public health and health system indicators. If at the end of the 21 days the province has vaccinated 70 per cent of adults with one dose and 20 per cent of adults with two doses and there are continued improvements in other key public health and health system indicators, the province will move to Step 2 of the reopening plan.

All public health and workplace safety measures currently in place will remain in effect until the province moves to Step 1 on June 11 12:01 a.m. 

For more information on the reopening plan, click here.