By James Tubb
BELLEVILLE – The head of the Belleville Chamber of Commerce expressed her excitement today over the provincial government’s announcement regarding the opening of businesses in Hastings-Prince Edward.
The Hastings Prince Edward region will be one of three areas in Eastern Ontario that will see businesses re-open for in-person shopping.
Premier Doug Ford made the announcement Monday at Queen’s Park, saying the government will be taking a phased-in approach to reopening the province.
The province is going back to its colour-coded system, which Ontario used to limit the virus’s spread before the province went into lockdown on Dec. 26. The green, yellow, orange, red and grey levels all come with various levels of restrictions with grey being the most strict.
For Jill Raycroft, chief executive officer for the Belleville Chamber of Commerce, the re-opening of Belleville businesses is welcomed. She was grateful and proud of the efforts of people in the region during the lockdown, resulting in sufficiently low numbers of cases.
“We have seen a great deal of investment in PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) from our local businesses and I think that is very telling for us keeping our numbers low,” Raycroft said.
In the first phase, Ontario’s state of emergency will expire on Wednesday for three regions: Kingston Frontenac and Lennox and Addington Public Health, Hastings Prince Edward Public Health and Renfrew County and District Health Unit.
As Belleville businesses are able to open a week before other areas, the potential for people travelling from outside the region to shop in-person raises some concerns.
For Raycroft, she said the health and safety protocols and the stay-at-home orders still in place by public health should keep everyone where they are supposed to be.
“Safety protocols are made to ward off people travelling, I don’t think we should be concerned,” Raycroft said. “The protocol is there to keep us safe and if we don’t trust that, why are we even opening?”
The rest of the province will reopen on Feb. 16, except major COVID-19 hotspots like Toronto, Peel and York region. The stay-at-home order will stay in effect in those places until at least Feb. 22.
For a full-size version of this infographic, please click here.
Prince Edward County Mayor Steve Ferguson reflected the same belief in the health protocols put in place by public health to keep those who don’t live in the region at home.
“The province is relying on people to follow the stay-at-home order and respect Prince Edward County,” he said. “It’s a matter of people’s behaviour. Businesses don’t want to go through the open and closing that we have for a year now.”
Gathering limits will remain as they were in the green zone before the lockdown: 25 people outdoors and 10 people indoors, unless it is organized by a business or organization, then it is up to 50 people allowed indoors and 100 people outdoors with social distancing. Sports and recreation facilities, cinemas, and meeting and event spaces will be allowed to reopen with a capacity limited to 50 people indoors and 100 people outdoors.
The government has also introduced an “emergency brake” that allows the province’s top doctor, Dr. David Williams, to immediately move a region back into lockdown if cases spike.
Officials updated the colour-tiered framework to allow for what it calls a safer approach to retail. As a result, limited in-person shopping in “grey-lockdown” zones will be permitted with public health and safety measures, such as the limited capacity of 25 percent in most retail settings.
“Let me be clear: if we see the numbers spike again, we are prepared to take further action as necessary,” Ford said during his press conference on Monday.
A provincial lockdown was imposed in late December and was followed by the state of emergency and a stay-at-home order that took effect on Jan. 14 as COVID-19 rates surged.
The local health unit reported four new cases of the virus on Monday and there are now 10 active cases of COVID-19 in Hastings Prince Edward.
The province as a whole reported 1,022 new COVID-19 cases and 17 deaths on Tuesday.
An explainer outlining the updates to Ontario’s colour-coded system and the COVID-19 regulations as the province re-opens can be found here.
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