More than 500 Ontario parks and conservation areas will reopen Monday,
Conservation areas, more to be free for day visitors until the end of May
Ontario announced 520 provincial parks and conservation reserves will reopen Monday for limited day use, with the remaining 115 parks to open Friday.
Premier Doug Ford made the announcement at his COVID-19 briefing on Saturday. Parks will open for walking, hiking, birdwatching and biking, but people must still practise social distancing.
“Please take note that access will be limited for now,” Ford said. “Camping, playgrounds and beaches will continue to be closed. Public health measures must be followed at all times, including practising physical distancing, avoiding social gatherings and staying home if you’re sick.”
The parks also will not have washrooms or drinkable water available right away, added Jeff Yurek, Ontario minister of the environment for conservation and parks. All roofed accommodations and water taps will remain closed.
Yurek advised people to come prepared with hand sanitizer, extra water and other necessary supplies. He encouraged Ontarians to visit the park closest to their community.
Parks and conservation areas will be free for day visitors until the end of the month.
The parks will be patrolled to ensure physical distancing rules are respected, but Yurek acknowledged they cover a vast area and visitors need to remain personally responsible for reducing the spread of COVID-19.
He added that Ontario parks staff will be conducting “critical maintenance” and other park start-up procedures over the next several weeks so that more recreational activities and facilities can be made available.
People can visit ontarioparks.com to check the status of their local park.
Saturday was the first day hardware and safety supply stores were allowed to open their doors. On Monday, retail stores with street entrances can open for curbside pickup and delivery.
Ford stressed the importance of people continuing to practise physical distancing as the province moves slowly ahead in reopening.
“We’re trusting people to be responsible and take this seriously, so they can enjoy themselves while staying safe and healthy.”
Ontario is reporting 346 new cases of COVID-19 and 59 new deaths.
There are now a total of 19,944 cases of COVID-19 in the province, and the rate of growth in cases dropped below two per cent for the first time since March.
The province has a total of 1,599 deaths and 14,383 cases have been marked as resolved.
Canada’s case count climbed past 67,000 on Saturday. Quebecers make up more than half of the total cases, with 36,986 — about half of which are in Montreal.
On top of sustained community transmission in pockets of the city, long-term-care homes have come under such strain that 1,350 Canadian Forces soldiers will be deployed to 25 facilities by mid-May to help residents, the federal government says.
Elsewhere in Canada, questions about access to supplies are emerging among other vulnerable populations as health officials and community leaders work to contain the spread of COVID-19 in Saskatchewan’s far north.
The region has seen a spike in cases in and around the remote Dene village of La Loche, a community of 2,800 about 600 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon where an outbreak has affected more than 100 residents.
Leonard Montgrand, the regional representative of Métis Nation-Saskatchewan, said Friday the situation is getting scary because infrastructure isn’t set up to respond to the crisis.
Federal Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller said outbreaks of COVID-19 in First Nations communities may have been delayed because of their remoteness, but the government needs to remain vigilant in the future.
“You could see languages disappear,” he said, referring to elders who make up the last generation to speak some Indigenous dialects.
Miller cited a need for more resources and better data collection to help protect the communities and understand the spread of the virus among Indigenous people, and called on provincial governments to help in that area.
The full scope of the outbreak among Indigenous populations remains unknown because federal data collection is carried out mainly among on-reserve and northern communities, he said.
On the East Coast, another resident of Nova Scotia’s largest long-term-care home has fallen victim to COVID-19.
The Northwood facility, which has more than 400 residents, is the site of the province’s worst outbreak.
Provincial health officials said Saturday that deaths related to the viral infection had risen to 47, with 41of those cases reported at Northwood.
Across Canada, long-termcare residents account for more than 80 per cent of deaths caused by the virus, even though they account for only 20 per cent of the cases.
“We’ve got to do better as a nation,” Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, told a news conference Saturday.
Nova Scotia had 1,011 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Saturday, which included three new cases.
Seven individuals were being treated in hospital — two of them in intensive care — and 743 patients have recovered from the viral infection.