Premier Doug Ford is expected to unveil plans at noon Monday to reopen the province following its state of emergency.
Various media reports say Ford will announce that the state of emergency will be allowed to expire as scheduled on Tuesday.
However, reports say a stay-at-home order will remain in effect as regions gradually transition back to the government’s colour-coded restrictions over the next three weeks.
Measures will be in place that will give the province’s top doctor authority to immediately move a region back into lockdown if cases spike.
Ontario has been in lockdown since Boxing Day.
The Northwestern Health Unit doesn’t have a problem with the Stay-at-Home order being lifted.
Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kit Young Hoon says, “We’re in a space where our numbers are generally manageable and hopefully at some point the public health restrictions will be loosened or reduced considering our lower numbers.”
She adds, “It’s a provincial decision and it’s based on information across the entire province and not only in our catchment area. So within our catchment area our rates are relatively low so we’re hopeful that the restrictions can be lifted sooner rather than later.”
Over the weekend though, the area saw 10 new cases, eight in the Kenora area and two in the Sioux Lookout region.
There were no new cases reported Sunday.
Charla Robinson is with the Northwestern Ontario District Chamber of Commerce and says they, along with other provincial chambers, have asked Premier Doug Ford for evidence based decisions and clearer guidelines moving forward.
“When they’re in Orange, what a community is doing, when they’re in Red, what a community is doing, and when they are in lockdown. Set the expectation. If this is your situation, this is where you are going to be. And I think that kind of clarity would help everyone be more accepting.”
Robinson adds messaging from businesses to the province must be clearer as well.
She says this would help during times when some restrictions seemed tougher for some businesses over others.
“But when things are not clear, that’s when it becomes very hard for businesses to understand why the rules keep changing, why we;re not following the guidelines that have been set up by the government. And if we can get that clarity back, I think that will help.”
The request to the Premier also asks for planning for areas that are hardest hit, in a regional sense, and better workforce management systems, such as employee screening, so there’s a more uniform approach for area health units instead of a patchwork approach.
(With files from Geoff Waterfield: Thunder Bay)
