COVID-19: Three-step approach to reopening a ‘good plan,’ Klassen says

Content item

A three-step plan to lift pandemic restrictions in Ontario will begin Jan. 31 with increased gathering limits and the gradual reopening of businesses such as restaurants, gyms and cinemas, Premier Doug Ford has announced.

Content item

After the province was shutdown earlier this month to blunt a “tsunami” of COVID-19 cases caused by the Omicron variant, Ford and Health Minister Christine Elliott laid out the government’s next steps Thursday.

Their plan begins by increasing social gathering sizes to 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors – up slightly from the limits imposed Jan. 5 – and reopening restaurant dining rooms, fitness facilities, museums and other venues at half capacity.

Restrictions will be lifted further every three weeks as long as health trends don’t become concerning.

By March 14, the plan calls for all indoor capacity restrictions to be lifted, but proof of vaccination and masking requirements will remain.

“While we can be confident in how far we’ve come, I want to be crystal clear: we’re not out of the woods yet,” Ford said. “The coming weeks will continue to pose real challenges, especially to our hospitals.”

Dr. Miriam Klassen, the medical officer of health in Huron and Perth counties, complimented the government’s approach Thursday.

“I think that (it’s) a good plan,” she said. “Loosening some restrictions and then waiting for a period of time to see the impact and keeping some restrictions in place makes sense.

“It’s similar to how previous waves have been handled, trying to find the right balance between … protecting essential services, particularly the healthcare system, and allowing as much economic activity as is possible.”

Content item

That activity will be helpful for Stratford’s small business owners.

Anne Campion, the vice chair of Stratford’s downtown business association and the owner of Revel coffee shop in Market Square, said the city’s core has been “pretty quiet” over the past few weeks.

She welcomed Thursdays news but also urged government officials to focus on rolling out pandemic relief programs aimed at small businesses. Some programs designed to mitigate the impact of the most recent shutdown haven’t yet come through, Campion said, adding that applications for property tax and energy rebates just opened this week.

“For some businesses that means we’ve been over 60 days with significant restrictions and a sign of help coming, but no actual help arriving yet,” she said. “I think there’s a feeling of being in limbo. We need the assistance now.”

Meanwhile, Gallery Stratford’s director and curator, Angela Brayham, said she’s excited for the Grade 12 students whose art will be on the walls when visitors are allowed to return at the end of the month. It will be some time before classes at the public art gallery return, though.

“I’m still going to be cautious,” Brayham said. “I’m quite comfortable having people come into the space to look at art; I’m not yet comfortable having people sitting in a class. I want to see what happens when we open things up before I start scheduling these kinds of things.”

The rate of new hospital admissions in Ontario is slowing, Ford said, and the percentage of positive COVID-19 tests has dropped significantly from early this month.

Content item

Ontario reported 4,061 people in hospital with COVID-19 on Thursday and 594 people in intensive care units. That’s the second day in a row that the number of hospitalizations has fallen, from a peak Tuesday of 4,183, though the ICU occupancy is still rising.

The province reported that another 75 people have died, including some deaths that occurred earlier this month.

Klassen said hospital capacity will continue to be among the indicators experts will be paying close attention to as restrictions ease.

When Ford announced the latest restrictions Jan. 3, they included a hospital directive to pause all non-urgent surgeries and procedures. Health Minister Christine Elliott said Thursday it is still too soon to lift that order because the peak of admissions to ICU likely won’t happen until mid-February.

It’s important for people to continue getting vaccinated as the province attempts to reopen, Klassen added.

“Vaccinations continue to be our most effective tool in preventing infection and especially in preventing severe outcomes and hospitalizations,” she said. “That high vaccination rate will allow us to continue to remove and loosen public health measures while also achieving more immunity at the population level without the increased risks associated with actual infection.”

[email protected]

-With files from the Postmedia News and the Canadian Press

Ontario’s latest reopening plan: A breakdown

Jan. 31:

Content item

Feb. 21

March 14