COVID-19 Updates News Regulation & Guidelines
Ontario to ease restrictions on businesses and lift essential workplace limits on construction

Toronto – The Ontario government has announced the retailers, seasonal businesses and health and community service providers who will be permitted to open or expand their services on Tuesday, May 19, 2020, at 12:01 a.m. It also will lift essential workplace limits on construction beginning on Tuesday, May 19, 2020, at 12:01 a.m. These changes will happen provided that the general trend on health indicators continues to improve as part of the first stage of the government’s reopening framework.

The workplaces opening as part this stage are well-positioned to put workplace safety measures in place and get more people back to work, while not overburdening public transit and other services, the premier said in a news release.

The government also announced additional seasonal services and activities will be permitted to open as early as Saturday, May 16, 2020, at 12:01 a.m., in time for the Victoria Day long weekend, as key public health indicators continue to show progress.

“During the last several weeks, the people of Ontario have been called on to make incredible sacrifices to help us stop the spread of COVID-19, including staying home from work, closing down businesses and going without a regular paycheque,” Premier Ford said. “However, we are reopening even more of our businesses beginning this long weekend. We are taking a cautious, balanced approach to our economic reopening, to protect the health and safety of everyone.”

As soon as 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, May 16, 2020:

• Golf courses will be able to open, with clubhouses open only for washrooms and restaurants open only for take-out.
• Marinas, boat clubs and public boat launches may open for recreational use.
• Private parks and campgrounds may open to enable preparation for the season and to allow access for trailers and recreational vehicles whose owners have a full season contract.
• Businesses that board animals, such as stables, may allow boarders to visit, care for or ride their animal.

The government’s responsible and measured approach to reopening will allow business owners and service provider’s time to ensure workplaces are safe for staff, consumers and the general public. Assuming trends in key public health indicators continue to improve, Ontario’s first stage of reopening will begin on Tuesday, May 19, 2020 at 12:01 a.m. and will include:

• Retail services that are not in shopping malls and have separate street-front entrances with measures in place that can enable physical distancing, such as limiting the number of customers in the store at any one time and booking appointments beforehand or on the spot.
• Seasonal businesses and recreational activities for individual or single competitors, including training and sport competitions conducted by a recognized national or provincial sport organization. This includes indoor and outdoor non-team sport competitions that can be played while maintaining physical distancing and without spectators, such as tennis, track and field and horse racing.
• Animal services, specifically pet care services, such as grooming and training, and regular veterinary appointments.
• Indoor and outdoor household services that can follow public health guidelines, such as housekeepers, cooks, cleaning and maintenance.
• Lifting essential workplace limits on construction.

Allowing certain health and medical services to resume, such as in-person counselling and scheduled surgeries based on the ability to meet pre-specified conditions as outlined in A Measured Approach to Planning for Surgeries and Procedures During the COVID-19 Pandemic, as well as resuming professional services such as shifting Children’s Treatment Centres from virtual to in-person.

The government and health and safety associations have released more than 90 safety guidance documents to assist employers in multiple sectors, including construction, retail, facilities maintenance and manufacturing. As new sectors of the economy begin to reopen, additional resources will be made available to help protect the safety of workers and the general public.

To support business-owners, workers and the economic recovery of the province, the government has launched a website to provide businesses with information on personal protective equipment (PPE) suppliers. The Workplace PPE Supplier Directory has an up-to-date list of Ontario companies and business associations that are ready to supply personal protective equipment.

In order to prioritize the needs of patients, front-line health-care workers and first responders when it comes to having critical equipment and supplies to protect themselves during the COVID-19 outbreak, businesses are encouraged to access only the PPE they need to keep their employees and customers safe.