Ontario Construction News staff writer
Non-essential construction will be allowed to resume across Ontario in the first step of the Three-Step Roadmap to Safely Reopen the Province announced on Thursday.
Step 1 of the roadmap will come into effect when 60 per cent of all Ontario residents have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. As of May 20, About 48.2 per cent of Ontario residents have received at least one dose.
The Ontario government’s reopening strategy announced Thursday is a three-step plan based on vaccination rates.
“We’re now in a position to look at a slow and measured reopening in the province,” said Premier Doug Ford during a press conference at Queen’s Park Thursday afternoon, crediting the ongoing emergency break shutdown and stay-at-home order for a “steady improvement in our situation as ICU and hospital numbers begin to stabilize.”
“Working in lockstep with our public health officials, we’ve created a plan to safely reopen in the coming weeks.”
Opening will follow a gradual, three-step roadmap similar to the U.K., Quebec and Saskatchewan.
The government is hoping all of Ontario will enter the first phase of the plan “around the week of June 14,” which would include opening patios, outdoor fitness classes, and non-essential retail at 15 per cent capacity.
More restrictions will lift as more people get vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus.
Starting on Saturday, outdoor recreational amenities will be permitted to reopen.
The province will remain in each of the three steps “for at least 21 days to evaluate any impacts.” If, at the end of each 21-day period, vaccination thresholds and other criteria have been met, we will move forward as a group into the next step.
Here’s what we can expect from each step, and what we need to do to get there, per the provincial government:
Step One:Â 60 per cent of adults vaccinated with one dose
“An initial focus on resuming outdoor activities with smaller crowds where the risk of transmission is lower and permitting retail with restrictions. This includes allowing outdoor gatherings of up to 10 people, outdoor dining with up to four people per table and nonessential retail at 15 per cent capacity.
Step Two: 70 per cent of adults vaccinated with one dose and 20 per cent vaccinated with two
“Further expanding outdoor activities and resuming limited indoor services with small numbers of people where face coverings are worn. This includes outdoor gatherings of up to 25 people, outdoor sports and leagues, personal care services where face coverings can be worn and with capacity limits, as well as indoor religious services, rites or ceremony gatherings at 15 per cent capacity.”
Step Three: 70 to 80 per cent of adults vaccinated with one dose and 25 per cent vaccinated with two doses
“Expanding access to indoor settings, with restrictions, including where there are larger numbers of people and where face coverings can’t always be worn. This includes indoor sports and recreational fitness; indoor dining, museums, art galleries and libraries, and casinos and bingo halls, with capacity limits.”