Today, the Ontario government announced that Halton Region, including Burlington, Halton Hills, Milton and Oakville will be moving to Stage 2 of reopening. Effective Friday, June 19, 2020, more businesses and services, as well as recreational and outdoor spaces, will be able to reopen across the region with required public health measures in place.
Halton Region is ready to move to this next stage based on meeting the province’s criteria. These include Halton’s COVID-19 stable and low case numbers over the last few weeks, local hospitals sustaining adequate capacity, 90 per cent of new COVID-19 cases and close contacts being reached by Public Health within one day and adherence to physical distancing and public health measures within our community.
“This is an important step forward for our region as we begin to recover from the impacts COVID-19 has had on our community and our economy,” said Halton Regional Chair Gary Carr. “This move to Stage 2 shows that as a community we have all strongly adhered to public health direction. I would like to thank residents for their commitment to taking these directions seriously, Halton Region staff and our Public Health team for all of their efforts to support and protect our community and our frontline workers who have helped to contain the spread of COVID-19. We have worked together to keep our residents safe and help our community get through this difficult time.”
As of 12:01 a.m. on June 19, the following businesses, services, recreational and outdoor facilities will be allowed to reopen in Halton region with proper safety measures in place:
- outdoor dine-in services at restaurants, bars and other establishments, including patios, curbside, parking lots and adjacent properties;
- select personal care services with the proper health and safety measures in place, including tattoo parlours, barber shops, 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; and
- film and television production activities, with limits to enable physical distancing.
Halton Region Public Health is reminding residents that important public health measures and direction remain in place as the COVID-19 pandemic and emergency continues.
“As our economy reopens and some restrictions are eased, Halton Region Public Health will continue to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic to keep our community safe”, said Dr. Hamidah Meghani, Medical Officer of Health. “We still have more work to do and must stay vigilant. I encourage everyone to continue physical distancing in public outside of your social “circle”, wash your hands frequently, stay close to home as much as possible, and staying home especially if you are not well. If you have symptoms of COVID-19, please get tested. Continuing to take these steps will ensure we continue to move forward, not backwards.”
As always, residents and businesses should continue to visit halton.ca/COVID19 for the latest public health direction, the status of cases in the community and information on how to protect yourself and others.
The Regional Municipality of Halton serves 580,000 residents in the City of Burlington, the Town of Halton Hills, the Town of Milton, and the Town of Oakville. Halton Region is committed to meeting the needs of its residents through the delivery of cost-effective, quality programs and services, including water and wastewater; Regional roads and planning; paramedic services; waste management; public health; social assistance; children’s and seniors’ services; housing services; heritage programs; emergency management and economic development. For more information, call 311 or visit Halton Region’s website at halton.ca.