While Premier Doug Ford says Ontario could move into the second phase of reopening early, the Porcupine Health Unit (PHU) region is getting ready to enter Step 1.
Today, PHU medical officer of health Dr. Lianne Catton said the Timmins area will enter Step 1 of the Roadmap to Reopen on Friday, June 25. That's two weeks after the rest of the province started loosening restrictions on Friday, June 11.
“While the vast majority of the Porcupine Health Unit will move forward into Step 1, we will also have some added enhanced measures in the Town of Moosonee in order to support that region with the current context,” said Catton.
The Roadmap to Reopen is a three-stage plan, with each phase slated to last at least 21 days. Moving to the next stage depends on provincial vaccination rates and other key public health indicators. Ontario has already met its vaccination target for entering the second stage.
The province is slated to enter Step 2, which further loosens restrictions and allows for things such as a haircut, on July 2.
According to the Canadian Press, Ford says an announcement on moving to Step 2 earlier is coming "very shortly", following discussions with the province's top doctor.
The Porcupine Health Unit stretches from Timmins up to the James Bay coast and is the only region in Ontario that did not enter into Step 1 on June 11.
The province's roadmap does not include an emergency brake like the previous colour-coded regional reopening plan. Medical officers of health can add to provincial restrictions with powers afforded to them under the Health Protection and Promotion Act with a Section 22 order.
The current letter of instruction with the emergency brake restrictions is being rescinded June 25 and the region will be in the first stage of the roadmap.
If Ontario moves to the next stage early, the region would also move to the next step unless Catton issues another Section 22 order to impose further restrictions.
In a virtual news conference today, Catton said the health unit "will be working hard to move in tandem with the province" as soon as it can.
She said it's too early to tell when the Timmins area will move on to Step 2.
“Generally we like to see a couple of weeks, that’s the usual movement forward from one stage to another, but we’ll really need to see where things are and take all of the same items into context as we move forward," she said.
The Porcupine Health Unit region is a provincial hotspot for the more highly transmissible delta variant B.1.617.2.
Keeping the restrictions in place locally was to minimize person-to-person interactions and slow the spread of the virus.
In the past two weeks, the number of daily cases has decreased and been sustained, there's been a decrease in new and active outbreaks — the last was reported June 7 — and there has been a decrease in hospitalizations.
There has also been an increase in the number of people receiving their first and second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, said Catton.
For people 18 years and older locally 72.4 per cent have received their first dose of a vaccine and 41.6 per cent have received both doses.
The state of emergency in Timmins that had been in place since May 17 was also lifted today.
As the region opens, she said public health measures need to be in place for everyone.
She said the delta variant is spreading in different ways from previous waves.
“We have seen transmission outside, we’ve seen transmission with less time of close interaction, we’ve seen it with very minimal things — people removing their masks and having a conversation for a few minutes or a few sips of coffee and being too close together,” she said.
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.
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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.
