Ontario will move into Step 1 of reopening plan on Friday

Ontario will move into Step 1 of its economic reopening plan on Friday, three days ahead of schedule, based on the provincewide vaccination rate and improvements in health indicators.

A statement from the Premier’s Office said the current situation in Ontario is “exceeding the best-case scenario” in recent modelling, which indicated that the province would reach below 1,000 new daily infections by June 30.

The government previously said that they would likely enter Step 1 on June 14, but instead will begin the reopening at midnight on June 11.

Prior to the province’s official announcement, Health Minister Christine Elliott told CTV News Toronto in a brief interview on Monday that Premier Doug Ford will meet with a cabinet committee on Monday to review data and make an initial decision, which will likely have to be ratified by the entire cabinet this week.

Hours later, the decision was made official.

Ontario achieved the main target of vaccinating 60 per cent of the adult population with the initial dose on May 21, according to the Premier’s Office, but needed to wait at least two weeks to allow recipients to build up a sufficient level of immunity.

As of June 6, 72 per cent of the 18 plus population in Ontario had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 10 million doses were administered.

The province has also seen a steady decline in new daily cases, 525 reported on Monday, and ICU occupancy has also decreased to 498 COVID-19 patients. The province said between May 25 and May 31, Ontario’s COVID-19 case rate dropped 35.1 per cent.

Step 1 allows for Ontario to relax restrictions that mainly involving outdoor activities.

Outdoor gathering limits will increase to 10 people, patios can reopen, and in-person shopping at non-essential retail is permitted with strict capacity limits.

Also, indoor religious services, including weddings and funerals, are permitted at 15 per cent capacity. Day camps will be allowed to operate, along with overnight camping grounds at provincial parks.