Sarnia-Lambton is on its way to Stage 2 of the province's reopening plan.
Premier Doug Ford announced Monday that the area will move on to the next phase this Friday, June 19 at 12:01 a.m.
Sarnia-Lambton was not included in Ontario’s Stage 2 pandemic reopening last week.
Places that can reopen include outdoor dine-in services at restaurants, hairdressers and shopping malls.
Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley said moving into the next stage would not have been possible without a strong community effort.
"The only reason that we made it to this stage is that we took all of the efforts possible as a community and as a county to get there, and everyone was working together to do so," he said. "We need to continue to do that because this is just one more large step. If we want to get to the final stage, we're going to have to continue to do the separation and all of the other things that we did to get the numbers down. We still have a long way to go to get people to Stage 3 and while there's a number of businesses that can move onto Stage 2, there are still many that are left out that are more complicated to get up and running again. The province is telling us two to four weeks to get to the final stage. That's a long time."
Lambton County Warden Bill Weber is pleased to see the county moving ahead after being kept out of Stage 2 last Friday.
"We're pleased to be able to move forward, as a large portion of the province has done already," he said. "Residents and businesses have been patiently waiting for this news, and we ask for continued patience as businesses work towards reopening safely."
Lambton Medical Officer of Health Dr. Sudit Ranade said precautions are still necessary even as people return to work and are able to socialize more with friends and family.
"It's going to be new for everyone going back into things," said Ranade. "Every organization is going to have different ways of figuring this out. The key is, wherever possible, to main physical distance, and make sure that if you're sick that you don't go into work or circulate around the community."
Premier Doug Ford said conditions across Ontario are generally improving in terms of COVID-19.
"Today we continue to report lower than 200 cases of COVID-19 here in Ontario," said Ford. "This is the lowest day over day increase that we've seen since late March. While our cases continue to trend downward, our testing numbers are climbing. Here in Ontario, we've processed over a million tests since the start of this outbreak."
Businesses and services permitted to reopen with proper health and safety measures in place in regions entering Stage 2 include:
- Outdoor dine-in services at restaurants, bars and other establishments, including patios, curbside, parking lots and adjacent properties;
- Select personal and personal care services with the proper health and safety measures in place, including tattoo parlours, barbershops, hair salons and beauty salons;
- Shopping malls under existing restrictions, including food services reopening for take-out and outdoor dining only;
- Tour and guide services, such as bike and walking, bus and boat tours, as well as tasting and tours for wineries, breweries and distilleries;
- Water recreational facilities such as outdoor splash pads and wading pools, and all swimming pools;
- Beach access and additional camping at Ontario Parks;
- Camping at private campgrounds;
- Outdoor-only recreational facilities and training for outdoor team sports, with limits to enable physical distancing;
- Drive-in and drive-through venues for theatres, concerts, animal attractions and cultural appreciation, such as art installations;
- Film and television production activities, with limits to enable physical distancing; and
- Weddings and funerals, with limits on social gatherings to 10 people.
Other regions being allowed to re-open on Friday include Durham, Halton, Haldimand-Norfolk, Hamilton, Niagara, and York. Windsor-Essex, Peel and Toronto will remain in Stage 1 for at least another week. Premier Doug Ford will be making announcements every Monday.
