Most Ontario communities will enter Stage 3 of the reopening on July 17, but Niagara Region as well as the Greater Toronto Area will stay in Stage 2, announced Ontario Premier Doug Ford today at a news conference at Queen’s Park.
A large swath of Ontario will move to Stage 3 of the province’s reopening plan on July 17, with the exception of the Niagara Region, Hamilton and Halton Region, the Greater Toronto Area, and other parts of southern Ontario consider part of the Golden Horseshoe. Those communities will remain in Stage 2 for now.
Stage 3 will allow indoor dining in restaurants, live performing arts events, and the unshuttering of movie theatres and reopening of playgrounds. However, mandated health and safety measures will be put in place, including physical distancing, enhanced cleaning protocols, and transparent barriers.
The following Ontario public health units will remain in Stage 2, while the rest of Ontario proceeds to Stage 3:
- Durham Region Health Department.
- Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit
- Halton Region Public Health
- Hamilton Public Health Services
- Lambton Public Health
- Niagara Region Public Health
- Peel Public Health
- Toronto Public Health
- Windsor-Essex County Health Unit
- York Region Public Health
Ford said the areas that will remain in Stage 2 will reopen soon. “I want the people in these regions to know we won’t leave anyone behind,” he said.
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