TORONTO -- New Brunswick has begun to loosen some of its physical distancing measures after its seventh straight day with no new cases of COVID-19.
The Atlantic province laid out a timeline this week for slowly reopening businesses and moving towards a “new normal.”
As part of the first stage, which became effective on Friday, parks and beaches have been reopened, golf courses are back in business, universities and colleges can open parts of their campuses for students in certain circumstances, and religious services can be held again as long as they are outside with physical distancing measures in place.
New Brunswick households can also socialize again — but only with one other household, as long as both households agree. Large gatherings are still banned.
A statement issued Friday from the premier’s office praised the province’s success in keeping COVID-19 largely contained thus far.
“To date, we have been able to manage a very difficult situation,” said Premier Blaine Higgs in the statement. “The fact that over the past few days there have been no new cases is cause for measured optimism.”
Five provinces or territories have recorded zero fatalities related to COVID-19 to date: New Brunswick, Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Prince Edward Island and Nunavut, which has yet to report a single case.
“We are fortunate that we have the lowest number of COVID-19 cases per capita of any province in Canada,” said Kevin Vickers, leader of the New Brunswick Liberal party.
While New Brunswick residents scan their list of friends to choose one household to socialize with, a vocal minority in Ontario are ignoring health recommendations and expressing their anger.
Protestors flouted physical distancing rules and violated an emergency order banning gatherings of more than five people to gather outside the provincial legislature on Saturday and call for an end to lockdown measures.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford called the group reckless, selfish and “a bunch of yahoos.”
“They’re breaking the law and putting themselves in jeopardy, putting the workers in jeopardy,” he said in a press conference.
In Ontario, around 14,000 cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in total, and more than 800 people have died.
Next week, Ontario and Quebec, which together account for more than 80 per cent of Canada’s COVID-19 cases, are set to release their individual plans to restart the economy.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday morning that Canada needs to be “very, very careful and very gradual,” about reopening the economy.
He said that ensuring we have enough personal protective equipment (PPE) for health care workers is essential to be prepared for reopening.
More supplies are already on the way, he said, adding that “planeloads of PPE supplies … will be coming in almost every single day next week,” and that domestic production capacity is “ramping up rapidly.”
“These are the things that we need to make sure we're getting right so as to ensure that all the sacrifices we've made over the past weeks won't be for nothing,” he said.
The newly relaxed rules instituted Friday for New Brunswick are only the first stage in a plan they released this week showing how they will slowly reopen amenities and public spaces.
“The phased plan will allow health experts to monitor and evaluate the impact of the lifting of restrictions,” the statement reads.
Many are happy about the prospect of returning to leisure spaces such as golf courses and parks. However, it won’t be business as usual even for those cleared to open again.
At Rockwood Park Golf Course, Jim Pearson told CTV News they would be vigilant about physical distancing.
“The number of tee times is … limited, social distancing still has to be practiced,” he said. “Things like two people in a golf cart? Unless they’re in the same household, that’s not going to happen.”
According to a chart posted by the New Brunswick government, the next stage of their loosening restrictions is set to occur two to four weeks from now.
This means that as early as mid-May, New Brunswick residents could be allowed to meet in groups of 10 or less, and businesses or activities that cannot ensure physical distancing could operate again with strict safety measures in place.
But as provinces grapple with how and when to reopen everything from shops and restaurants to hair salons, health experts are cautioning the public not to expect a full return to normal until there is a vaccine.
“Even when we start to see things opening up, if we still practice physical distancing and adhere to good hand hygiene, we can really ensure there is less and less transmission of this virus in community settings,” said Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease specialist with the University Health Network.
