Ontario takes biggest step towards reopening as thousands head back to work under new reality

Some retail stores reopen in Ontario Retail stores with a curbside entrance reopened Monday to the new reality imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

TORONTO — Retail stores with a street entrance were allowed to reopen and thousands of people returned to work Monday morning marking Ontario’s most significant move to reopen the provincial economy.

This comes after garden centres, hardware stores and safety supply stores all reopened over the weekend after weeks of being closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Like retail stores, some residential construction projects have also been given the green light to open up while observing strict public health measures laid out by the Ontario government.

The reopening of select businesses represents “phase two” of the province’s plan to restart the economy, released last month and dubbed “A Framework for Reopening our Province,” as the new cases of COVID-19 reported daily in Ontario continues to fall.

On Sunday, the province reported 294 new cases of the novel coronavirus--the lowest number of new cases reported since March 31.

Here’s a full list of what’s reopening today and the types of public health measures you can expect to see.

What is reopening today?

What are the public health measures?

Last month, the province released more than 60 sector-specific guidelines ahead of some businesses reopening Monday.

These guidelines are especially important for retail stores with a street entrance offering curbside pickup and delivery options as they affect both employees and customers. These include:

A full list of public health measures for curbside pickup and delivery services can be found here.

Later this week, the LCBO will extend its hours, opening from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, The stores are currently open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on those days. Sunday hours will remain the same, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

All sector-specific guidelines are available here.

Which businesses will open next?

The government has remained tight-lipped on which businesses would be the next to reopen.

However, earlier this month, Ontario Premier Doug Ford suggested that businesses should begin preparing their safety protocols now, instead of waiting for an official announcement from the province.

“No matter if its three weeks, four weeks, two weeks, whenever it is, start prepping," Ford said at the time.

“There’s the warning right now. It’s coming. It’s inevitable. The numbers keep going down, we’re going to get the economy going based on health and science.”