Too soon for casinos to reopen, Smith says

Kawartha Downs can reopen without spectators with races broadcast over the internet

While Kawartha Downs is now able to start its harness racing season, it’s still way too early for casinos to reopen under Ontario’s COVID-19 state of emergency, Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith says.

Smith updated reporters Friday on more Phase 1 reopenings of businesses set to take place Tuesday.

The first stage of Ontario’s economic reopening on Tuesday will allow some businesses to resume, including retail with curbside pickup, some sports centres with activities that can be done with physical distancing, vehicle dealerships, veterinarians for regular appointments, pet groomers and domestic services such as house cleaners.

Smith said casinos were not on the list of businesses slated to open because of the inability for social distancing of people in tight areas.

“Kawartha Downs is in a little bit different position than many of the other racetracks,” Smith said. “They have some slots there. There is going to be some challenges in terms of social distancing.”

The Fraserville racetrack plans to open for the season June 6 with no spectators allowed and the races broadcast over the internet. The Shorelines Slots at Kawartha Downs will remain closed.

“When you are looking at the racing aspect of it, we are not ready to have large gatherings, so racing per se, where it can be broadcast can be opened,” Smith said.

It is a different business model than what owners and managers of racetracks are used to, he said.

Smith said racetracks such as Kawartha Downs could also look for ways to broadcast their races on television through a third-party broadcaster.

“We haven’t had any sporting events for eight weeks on television,” Smith said. “There is an appetite for live events to happen and it is going to mean working in collaboration with different broadcasters.”

People are locked down inside their houses with the limited options of entertainment starting to become stale, he said.

With the arrival of the Victoria Day long weekend, Smith urged people to maintain two-metre social distancing to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

While 68 of Peterborough’s 73 confirmed COVID-19 cases have been resolved, the protocols cannot be relaxed, he said.

“As much as people want to go out to enjoy the long weekend and get back to some sense of normalcy, we need to maintain social distancing and those practices that got us to this point,” Smith said.

“We need to continue down the path assuming everyone you meet has COVID-19 and everything you touch has the potential for having the COVID-19 virus on it.”

Effective 12:01 a.m. Saturday, the province has also lifted the ban on outdoor campfires that had went into effect on April 2 because of the pandemic.