On 12:01 a.m. on Friday, June 11, 2021, Ontario will move into Step One of its Roadmap to Reopen.

Step Two will be begun when 70% of adults in Ontario have been vaccinated, and 20% have received two doses. You can see the progress of Ontario’s vaccinations in the GNCC’s daily update. Step Two cannot be entered until the province has been in Step One for a minimum of 21 days.

Here is what Step One means for your business.

Retailers

• Non-essential retail is permitted to open for in-person shopping at 15 per cent capacity, with no restrictions on the goods that can be sold. Calculate your capacity here with the Retail Council of Canada’s online tool, using the “Phase 1” dropdown
• Essential and other select retail is permitted to open for in-person shopping at 25 per cent capacity, with no restrictions on the goods that can be sold. Calculate your capacity here with the Retail Council of Canada’s online tool, using the “Phase 1” dropdown. “Essential retail” includes:
  • Businesses that primarily sell food, beverages and consumer products necessary to maintain households and businesses including:
    • Supermarkets and grocery stores
    • Convenience stores
    • Discount and big box retailers selling groceries
    • Beer and wine and liquor stores
  • Pharmacies
  • Gas stations and other fuel suppliers
  • Vehicle retail, including auto
  • Hardware
  • Safety Supply Stores
  • Garden Centres
• If your retail store is open, you must:
  • Provide sufficient alcohol-based hand rub (minimum alcohol concentration of 70 per cent) at every entrance and exit of the establishment, with prompting to use it upon entry and exit
  • Ensure the workplace is arranged to help employees keep two metres distance from each other and from patrons at all times
  • Conduct daily interactive screening of all employees for symptoms of COVID-19, using the Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 Screening Tool for Workplaces, or another tool with the same minimum set of questions, such as the COVID-19 Screening Tool developed by Niagara Region Public Health. Answers to daily screens must be collected and retained for at least one month. Consider supplementing daily screening with free rapid antigen test kits
  • Actively monitor compliance and ensure that all patrons, store staff and mall staff, whether inside the mall or retail store under your control, or in the vicinity of a line-up outside the mall or retail store under your control, wear a mask or face covering in a manner that covers their mouth, nose and chin unless entitled to an exception from this requirement in the Reopening Ontario Act
  • Actively manage all line-ups or groups of patrons congregating and ensure all patrons waiting in line-ups inside or outside the shopping mall or retail store under your control maintain physical distancing of at least two metres
  • Actively monitor compliance with the required capacity limits set in the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020, S.O. 2020, c.17 and applicable regulations for the shopping mall, business, place, facility, or premise under your control, and ensure that physical distancing of two metres is maintained by patrons, store staff and mall staff in all common areas, stores, washrooms, hallways, entrances, etc., at all times
• Retail stores in malls are closed unless the store has a street facing entrance.

Bars, restaurants, and other food & drink establishments

• Outdoor dining is permitted with up to four people per table, with exceptions for larger households.
• If your establishment is open for dining, you must:
  • Record the following information from every patron who is 16 years of age or older that enters an indoor or outdoor dining area in the establishment, other than patrons who briefly enter the area to place, pick up, or pay for a takeout order:
    • Name
    • One form of contact information (phone number, email address, physical address)
    • Time of arrival and departure
    • Table number or location
    • Attestation that the patron doesn’t suffer from any COVID-19 symptoms, excluding those from a chronic non-contagious existing diagnosis)
    • Attestation that the patron is joining a table with only household members and/or a maximum of two persons who are essential to maintaining physical and mental health e.g. caregivers or social supports to someone who lives alone
  • Retain the above records for a period of at least one month, ensure the records are maintained and stored in a secure manner to preserve privacy of patrons, and appropriately and securely destroy the records after the one month retention period has elapsed
  • Disclose the records to a medical officer of health or an inspector under the Health Protection and Promotion Act on request, or as otherwise required by law
  • Refuse service patrons for indoor or outdoor dining on the premises if they don’t provide information for the above records. This is a legal requirement mandated by a Section 22 order in Niagara
  • Conduct daily interactive screening of all employees for symptoms of COVID-19, using the Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 Screening Tool for Workplaces, or another tool with the same minimum set of questions, such as the COVID-19 Screening Tool developed by Niagara Region Public Health. Answers to daily screens should be collected and retained for at least one month. Consider supplementing daily screening with free rapid antigen test kits
  • Ensure the workplace is arranged to help employees keep two metres distance from each other and from patrons at all times
  • Ensure that patrons are seated at all times, except while:
    • Entering the area and moving to their table
    • Placing or picking up an order
    • Paying for an order
    • Exiting the area
    • Going to or returning from a washroom
    • Lining up to do anything stated above
    • Necessary for the purposes of health and safety
  • Ensure that patrons seated at different tables are separated by a distance of at least two metres, or by plexiglass or some other impermeable barrier

Personal care services

• Closed

Veterinary and pet services

• Open

Lawn care and landscaping

• Open

Marinas and boating clubs

• Permitted with clubhouses, and other indoor amenities closed

Sports, recreational facilities, fitness classes and personal training

• Outdoor fitness classes, outdoor groups in personal training and outdoor individual/team sport training are permitted with up to 10 people spaced at least 3 metres apart
• Indoor facilities are closed except for high-performance athletes, child care, mental health and addiction support services, social services, and physical therapy (subject to conditions)
• All outdoor recreational amenities (e.g. golf courses, tennis courts, skateboarding and BMX parks, shooting and archery ranges) are open
• Outdoor pools, splash pads, spray pads, whirlpools, wading pools and water slides are open with capacity limited to permit 2 metres physical distancing

Events, attractions, and entertainment

• Social gatherings and organized public events with up to 10 people are now permitted outdoors
• Outdoor religious services, rites, or ceremonies, including wedding services and funeral services, are capped at the number of people that can maintain a physical distance of two metres
• Indoor religious services, rites, or ceremonies, including wedding services and funeral services are permitted at up to 15 per cent capacity of the particular room
• Concert venues, theatres and cinemas may open outdoors for the purpose of rehearsing or performing a recorded or broadcasted concert, artistic event, theatrical performance or other performance with no more than 10 performers, among other restrictions
• Outdoor horse racing tracks and motor speedways are permitted to operate without spectators
• Outdoor attractions such as zoos, landmarks, historic sites, botanical gardens may open with capacity and other restrictions
• Indoor meeting and event spaces are closed with exceptions for certain purposes including social services, government operations, court services, in-person examinations for select professions (subject to conditions)
• Drive in cinemas may open. Indoor cinemas remain closed
• Performing arts remain closed
• Casinos, bingo halls and gaming establishments remain closed
• Tours and tour guide services remain closed

Day camps and campgrounds

• Day camps for children are permitted to operate in a manner consistent with the safety guidelines for COVID-19 produced by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health
• Overnight camping at campgrounds and campsites, including Ontario Parks, and short-term rentals, is now permitted

Construction

• All construction is permitted

For questions, call the Stop the Spread Business Information Line at 1-888-444-3659.