Province Announces Windsor Essex Can Reopen Under Red Status, Starting Tuesday

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Windsor and Essex County will be returning to Red – Control status under the provincial government’s COVID-19 framework, allowing many businesses to reopen.

The news comes as the province says twenty-seven regions will move from the Stay-at-Home order to different levels in the framework.

They say based on a general improvement in trends of key indicators, including lower transmission of COVID-19, improving hospital capacity, and available public health capacity to conduct rapid case and contact management, Windsor Essex will move to Red – Control on Tuesday, February 16th, 2021 at 12:01am and will no longer be subject to the Stay-at-Home order.

Four remaining public health regions, Toronto Public Health, Peel Public Health, York Region Public Health and North Bay Parry Sound District, will remain in the shutdown, and the province says the Stay-at-Home order and all existing public health and workplace safety measures will continue to apply.

“While we are cautiously and gradually transitioning some regions out of shutdown, with the risk of new variants this is not a reopening or a return to normal,” said Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, in a news release. “Until vaccines are widely available, It remains critical that all individuals and families continue to adhere to public health measures and stay home as much as possible to protect themselves, their loved ones and their communities.”

The province says public health regions will stay in their level for at least two weeks at which time, the government will assess the impact of public health and workplace safety measures to determine if the region should stay where they are or be moved to a different level.

The province says due to the risk posed by new variants of COVID-19, if necessary in the future, they will implement an “emergency brake” to allow the Chief Medical Officer of Health, in consultation with the local medical officer of health, to immediately move a region into Grey-Lockdown to interrupt COVID-19 transmission.

They say local medical officers of health also have the ability to issue Section 22 orders under the Health Protection and Promotion Act, to target specific transmission risks in the community.

Here’s what’s Red – Control means for Windsor-Essex:

Organized public events, social gatherings and wedding, funeral and religious services, rites and ceremonies

• Limits for all organized public events and social gatherings:
  • 5 people indoors
  • 25 people outdoors
• Limits for religious services rites or ceremonies, including wedding services and funeral services, where physical distancing can be maintained (applies in any venue other than a private dwelling):
  • 30% capacity of the room indoors
  • 100 people outdoors

Restaurants, bars and other food and drink establishments

• Capacity limits, where physical distancing can be maintained:
  • 10 patrons seated indoors
• Outdoor dining, take out, drive through, and delivery permitted, including alcohol
• No buffet style service
• Line-ups and patrons congregating outside venues managed by venue; 2 metres distance and face covering required
• Screening of patrons is required, in accordance with instructions issued by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health
• Require patrons to be seated; 2 metres minimum or impermeable barrier required between tables
• Limit of 4 people may be seated together
• Require contact information for all seated patrons
• Face coverings required except when eating or drinking only
• Personal protective equipment, including eye protection required when is a worker must come within 2 metres of another person who is not wearing a face covering
• Establishments must be closed from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.
• Liquor sold or served only between 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• No consumption of liquor permitted between 10 p.m. to 9 a.m.
• Dancing, singing and the live performance of music is prohibited
• Limit volume of music to be low enough that a normal conversation is possible
• Night clubs and strip clubs only permitted to operate as restaurant or bar
• A safety plan is required to be prepared and made available upon request

Sports and recreational fitness facilities

• Maintain 2 metres physical distancing at all times
• Increase spacing between patrons to 3 metres in areas where there are weights or exercise equipment and in exercise and fitness classes
• Capacity limits, where physical distancing can be maintained
  • 10 people in indoor areas with weights and exercise machines
  • 10 people in all indoor classes or
  • 25 people in outdoor classes
  • No spectators permitted, however each person under 18 may be accompanied by one parent or guardian
• Team sports must not be practiced or played except for training (no games or scrimmage)
• Activities that are likely to result in individuals coming within 2 metres of each other are not permitted; no contact permitted for team or individual sports
• Exemptions for high performance athletes and parasport
• Patrons may only be in the facility for 90 minutes except if engaging in a sport
• Limit volume of music to be low enough that a normal conversation is possible; measures to prevent shouting by both instructors and members of the public
• Face coverings required except when exercising
• Require contact information for all members of the public that enter the facility
• Require reservation for entry; one reservation for teams
• Screening of patrons is required, in accordance with instructions issued by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health
• A safety plan is required to be prepared and made available upon request

Meeting and event spaces

• Capacity limit for the venue, where physical distancing can be maintained:
  • 10 people indoors or
  • 25 people outdoors
• Establishments must be closed from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.
• Liquor sold or served only between 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• No consumption of liquor permitted between 10 p.m. to 9 a.m.
• Face coverings required except when eating or drinking only
• Require contact information for all seated patrons
• Limit of 4 people may be seated together
• Limit volume of music to be low enough that a normal conversation is possible
• Screening of patrons is required, in accordance with instructions issued by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health
• A safety plan is required to be prepared and made available upon request

Retail

New for Red-Control as of February 2021:

• Capacity limits of:
  • 75% for supermarkets and other stores that primarily sell groceries, convenience stores, pharmacies
  • 50% for all other retail, including discount and big box retailers, liquor stores, hardware stores and garden centres
• Stores must post capacity limit publicly
• Stores must have passive screening for patrons (for example, posting signs outside the store front about not entering if you have COVID-19covid 19 symptoms)
  • This does not apply to indoor malls, which will have to do screening in accordance with instructions by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health
• Stores within the malls subject to appropriate retail measures

• Fitting rooms must be limited to non-adjacent stalls
• Line-ups and patrons congregating outside venues managed by venue; 2 metres distance required inside and outside; face covering also required while in line
• Limit volume of music to be low enough that a normal conversation is possible
• For malls:
  • Maximum number of patrons permitted to be seated indoors in mall food court is 10
  • A safety plan is required to be prepared and made available upon request

Personal care services

• Oxygen bars, steam rooms, saunas, bath houses and other adult venues, closed
• Sensory deprivation pods closed (some exceptions)
• Services requiring removal of face coverings prohibited
• Require contact information from all patrons
• Screening of patrons is required, in accordance with instructions issued by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health
• A safety plan is required to be prepared and made available upon request

Casinos, bingo halls and gaming establishments

• Capacity limit for the venue, where physical distancing can be maintained:
  • 10 people indoors or
  • 25 people outdoors
• Table games are prohibited
• Face coverings required except when eating or drinking only
• Liquor sold or served only between 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• No consumption of liquor permitted between 10 p.m. to 9 a.m.
• Require contact information from all patrons
• Screening of patrons is required, in accordance with instructions issued by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health
• A safety plan is required to be prepared and made available upon request

Cinemas

• Closed, except for:
  • drive-in cinemas
  • rehearsal or performing a recorded or broadcasted event, with restrictions, which include:
    • Performers and employees must maintain 2 metres physical distance except for purposes of the performance
    • Singers and players of brass or wind instruments must be separated from any other performers by plexiglass or other impermeable barrier
• A safety plan is required to be prepared and made available upon request

Performing arts facilities

• Closed to spectators
• Rehearsal or performing a recorded or broadcasted event permitted, with restrictions, which include:
  • Performers and employees must maintain 2 metres physical distance except for purposes of the performance
  • Singers and players of brass or wind instruments must be separated from any other performers by plexiglass or other impermeable barrier
• Drive-in performances permitted
• A safety plan is required to be prepared and made available upon request

The full list of restrictions can be viewed on the province’s website here.