Several provinces begin easing restrictions
Business resumes in some sectors, but with a new normal in place
Quebecers were shopping for furniture, Winnipeggers were sipping beers on patios and a Regina physiotherapist was treating aches and pains that built up during weeks of isolation.
Some provinces began easing their COVID-19 lockdowns on Monday, but top health officials cautioned many of the changes Canadians have made to their daily lives to slow the spread of the illness are here for the long haul.
“It’s not over,” federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu said.
“It is a cautious reopening in certain provinces and certain sectors, but ... the new normal will have to include new ways of living, new ways of working that will protect us in this unique and difficult time.”
Canada has confirmed more than 60,600 cases of the illness, including more than 3,800 deaths. Nearly 26,000 of the overall cases are considered resolved.
Quebec, which accounts for more than half of Canada’s tally, started reopening retail stores outside Montreal on Monday.
But it is delaying the restart in the Montreal area by a week, until May 18, because there are still too many COVID-19 patients in city hospitals.
Jean-François Riel opened his Meubles et Davantage furniture store in Farnham, Que., south of Montreal, for the first time since mid-March.
“It was a little bit hectic today,” said Riel, who added that he greeted about 50 per cent more customers than on a typical weekday before the shutdown.
Riel said his store’s 25,000square-foot space can ensure physical distancing.
The store now has one-way aisles and hand-sanitizer stations. Riel was expecting a shipment of protective visors for his employees before the end of
Monday.
At Club Tissus, a fabric store in Quebec City, salesperson Chleo Tremblay said a line of customers stretched nearly a kilometre outside. She said most customers were seeking material to make their own masks.
The store only allowed 20 people in at a time, and services that require employees to get close to customers, such as measuring, were not offered. Cashiers worked from behind Plexiglas.
Ontario was allowing a few mostly seasonal businesses to reopen, including garden centres with curbside pickups, lawn care and landscaping companies, and automatic car washes.
In Alberta, the Cargill beefprocessing plant south of Calgary resumed after it was shut down for two weeks because of an extensive COVID-19 outbreak. Nearly half the plant’s 2,000 workers have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
UFCW Local 401, arguing conditions are unsafe for workers, is seeking a stop-work order. Hearings before the Labour Relations Board were continuing Monday.
Manitoba’s museums, libraries and retail businesses — including restaurant patios — were allowed to reopen, although at half capacity.
Kathy and Dennis Teetaert were the first customers to sit down for a cold beer on the King’s Head Pub patio in downtown Winnipeg under a grey sky.
“I think it’s time to start supporting our restaurants and, besides that, I’m tired of cooking,” Kathy Teetaert said.
“I’m just hoping that people will be compliant and follow the rules so that we don’t have to take that step back again.”
Pub tables were at least two metres apart. Staff were wearing masks and gloves and there was online ordering.
While museums were allowed to reopen in Manitoba, many remained closed as they tracked down supplies and created safety plans.