PROVINCIAL REOPENING ON THE HORIZON

We have seen great progress in our fight against COVID-19 in recent weeks. Over 9 million vaccines have been given, with over two-thirds of adults having received their first dose; we are accelerating second doses for everyone, and we anticipate that many Ontario residents will benefit from a two-dose summer.

Thank you to our frontline healthcare workers, whose heroic efforts have made this possible, and to our community, who have shown tremendous resolve against this global pandemic.

Because of these improvements, and the collective action of our community, the provincial Stay-at-Home order has expired. Driven by the rapid increase of new, more contagious variants of COVID-19, the Stay-at-Home order was a necessary action: it helped lower transmission rates, and we can now begin to focus on safely, and cautiously, reopening Ontario.

Our government has released a simple, easy-to-understand summary of restrictions, titled Roadmap to Reopening Ontario. This plan provides details on what a phased reopening will include, along with public health measures like the provincial vaccination rates, hospitalizations, ICU occupancy and case rates that will be used to guide our path along each step of the Roadmap.

Based on current trends, we expect to enter Step One of the Roadmap during the week of June 14, 2021.

Until we enter Step One of our Roadmap to Reopen, public health and workplace safety measures remain in effect; now is not the time to let our guard down and undue the progress our community has made so far. This includes limiting indoor gatherings to households only and outdoor gatherings to five people, maintaining capacity limits for essential retail, and limiting non-essential items to curbside pickup and delivery.

As we look towards Step One of our reopening strategy, and begin to gradually lift public health measures, it remains critical for you to follow these guidelines, and roll up your sleeve to receive the vaccine. Remember, every dose given means we are one step closer to the end of the pandemic.