Ontario’s New Reopening Plan & Regulatory Changes:
The Ontario Government has announced the following changes under O. Reg 82/20 that will take effect as of Saturday, May 22nd, 2021. It is important to note that the Stay-at-Home order and O. Reg. 82/20 will continue to apply until June 2nd, 2021.
Marinas:
37. (1) Marinas, boating clubs and other organizations that maintain docking facilities for members or patrons that meet the following condition:
1. Any clubhouse, restaurant, pool, communal steam room, sauna or whirlpool, meeting room, fitness centre or other recreational facility on the premises must be closed to the public, except for any portion of those areas that,
- is used to provide first aid services,
- is used to provide take-out or delivery service,
- contains a washroom, or
- provides access to an area described in subparagraph i, ii or iii.
(2) For greater certainty, nothing in this Order precludes a person responsible for a marina, boating club or other organization that maintains docking facilities for members or patrons from operating a grocery or convenience store on the premises or from providing fuel supply, boat or watercraft repair and servicing, boat or watercraft docking and boat or watercraft launching services.
Outdoor Recreational Amenities:
Outdoor recreational amenities are permitted to open so long as individuals maintain social distance of 2m from anyone outside of their household who happen to be using the facilities.
The Government has included a stipulation specifically surrounding recreational boating:
Each person responsible for a boat or watercraft shall ensure that if a group of persons uses that boat or watercraft together for recreational purposes, the members of the group are all members of the same household OR one other person from outside that household who lives alone or a caregiver for any member of the household.
The remainder of the regulations for lodges, resorts, and seasonal campgrounds remain the same.
On Thursday, the Government released some highlights from it’s new three-step reopening plan titled Roadmap to Reopen. The Government anticipates that they will enter Stage 1 of this new reopening plan by mid-June.
The province will remain in each step for at least 21 days to evaluate any impacts on key public health and health system indicators. This plan outlines three steps to easing public health measures, guided by the following principles:
- Step One (60 per cent of adults vaccinated with one dose): An initial focus on resuming outdoor activities with smaller crowds where the risk of transmission is lower, and permitting retail with restrictions. This includes allowing outdoor gatherings of up to 10 people, outdoor dining with up to four people per table and non-essential retail at 15 per cent capacity.
- Step Two (70 per cent of adults vaccinated with one dose and 20 per cent vaccinated with two doses.): Further expanding outdoor activities and resuming limited indoor services with small numbers of people where face coverings are worn. This includes outdoor gatherings of up to 25 people, outdoor sports and leagues, personal care services where face coverings can be worn and with capacity limits, as well as indoor religious services, rites or ceremony gatherings at 15 per cent capacity.
- Step Three (70 to 80 per cent of adults vaccinated with one dose and 25 per cent vaccinated with two doses.): Expanding access to indoor settings, with restrictions, including where there are larger numbers of people and where face coverings can’t always be worn. This includes indoor sports and recreational fitness; indoor dining, museums, art galleries and libraries, and casinos and bingo halls, with capacity limits.
NOTE: The Government has not released the official document with regards to their new reopening plan. There are many unknowns at this time. It is expected that the Government will release more details on this plan in the upcoming week. NOTO is also seeking more information on the reopening plan and will continue to keep the industry informed as details are released.
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