Ontario is lifting a stay-at-home order for 27 health districts and moving them back to its colour-coded system of COVID-19 restrictions on Tuesday (Feb 16), including in the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (HKPR) District Health Unit region, which will move into the Orange COVID-19 colour category.
Before the province-wide shutdown took effect in late December, the HKPRDHU region – Haliburton County, Northumberland County and the City of Kawartha Lakes – had been in the Yellow level.
The HKPRDHU region’s move out of the provincial shutdown to the Orange COVID-19 level means:
>Local restaurants/bars can reopen for in-person dining, while continuing to offer takeout, pick-up and delivery.
>Worship services, weddings and funerals can resume with limitations.
>Gyms and fitness clubs can again open their doors to members with limitations.
>In-person shopping can resume at retail stores and malls.
>Personal care services such as barbers, hairdressers, nail salons and tattoo studios can resume with restrictions. One is that services requiring the removal of face coverings cannot be offered.
>Movie theatres and performing arts centres can reopen for performances, with limits in place.
All businesses and services that are reopening must follow COVID-19 restrictions. These include operating with reduced hours (in some cases), limiting the number of people inside at one time, ensuring physical distancing is maintained, and enhancing cleaning and disinfecting measures. Businesses must also screen customers for COVID-19, while ensuring they wear masks (unless exempt).
The move to Orange also means small social gatherings are once again allowed at private homes, backyards and parks between people from different households. Up to 10 people can gather indoors and up to 25 people outdoors. Masks must be worn, and people need to stay 2 metres apart from anyone who is outside of their household.
The Orange-Restrict level is midway in Ontario’s five-level COVID-19 Framework. Levels are based on rates of COVID-19 in an area. As well as Orange, there are also: Green-Prevent, Yellow-Protect, Red-Control and Grey-Lockdown. These public health measures can be adjusted, tightened, or loosened based on local COVID-19 trends and case counts. The colour code for each area is reviewed weekly by the Ontario Ministry of Health.
Locally, there are 3 new COVID-19 cases: 2 in Northumberland, and 1 in the Kawartha Lake’s as of today (Feb 12).
There are 1,076 new cases of the virus in Ontario today and 18 more deaths linked to the virus.
Eleven of the districts, including Hamilton and Windsor-Essex, will move to the strictest red level and nine, including Ottawa, will move to the orange level.
Health Minister Christine Elliot says that while most regions are being cautiously moved out of shutdown, the risk of new variants means the re-opening is not a return to normal.
A stay at home order remains in effect until at least February 22nd for the Toronto, York and Peel regions as well as the North Bay Parry Sound District.
North Bay was added to the list amid an outbreak at an apartment building where at least 18 people likely have a COVID-19 variant.
More information and resources on the Orange COVID-19 Category rules are available at the HKPRDHU website (www.hkpr.on.ca).