Details of first stage of reopening plan coming Thursday, Ford says

Province extends state of emergency as it prepares to open more workplaces

TORONTO—Details on the first stage of Ontario’s reopening plan will be coming this week, Premier Doug Ford said Tuesday, as the province extended its state of emergency to June 2.

In his daily briefing, Ford teased “good news” coming Thursday, saying the people of Ontario have followed all the protocols.

“(We’ll have) more good news about getting people back to work, more good news about opening workplaces, getting paycheques out the door, more good news about slowly getting back to normal,” Ford said.

“We’ll be reopening more lowrisk workplaces, seasonal businesses and essential services.”

This week, retail stores were allowed to reopen for curbside pickup and delivery, while hardware stores and garden centres have been allowed to reopen to in-store customers.

Stage one in the province’s reopening framework also includes allowing for more people at certain events such as funerals and having hospitals resume some non-urgent surgeries.

Currently, gatherings of more than five people are not allowed, and Ford said he is discussing with the chief medical officer whether it will be safe to move it to a maximum of 10 people.

Ontario reported 361 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday and 56 more deaths. That brings the province to a total of 20,907 cases, representing an increase of 1.8 per cent over the previous day, continuing relatively low growth rates seen over the past several days.

The total includes 1,725 deaths and 15,391 cases that have been resolved.

Ontario’s legislature was in session Tuesday — with politicians practising physical distancing — to extend the province’s state of emergency.

The state of emergency is dealt with separately from the emergency orders, recently extended to May 19, which cover closures of bars and restaurants except for takeout and delivery, theatres, outdoor amenities such as playgrounds, and childcare centres.

Ontario has previously announced that publicly funded schools will be closed until at least May 31, and Ford has said that news on child-care centres and schools is coming early next week.

Only Randy Hillier — a former government member now sitting as an independent after being kicked out of caucus — was opposed to extending the state of emergency.

“We must stop amplifying the danger and begin communicating a better understanding of the risk,” Hillier said.

The government and the opposition politicians also agreed to bring back question period on a semiregular basis, at least until early June.