The province will begin slowly lifting restrictions immediately on “low risk” public activities, the premier announced Friday alongside chief medical officer Dr. Jennifer Russell, and leaders of the other political parties.
The province reported no new COVID-19 cases for the sixth consecutive day. The total number of confirmed cases is 118, with 107 people recovered. Four patients remain hospitalized, with one person in an intensive care unit.
“Over the next weeks and months, we will gradually be lifting restrictions while at the same time complying with public health policy,” Premier Blaine Higgs said. “We are currently in the ‘red phase’ but thanks to your hard work we are ready to take our first steps into the ‘orange’ phase.”
In the first steps towards the “orange” phase of a four-phase strategy, the province will allow public parks, beaches and golf courses to reopen. It will also open fishing and hunting seasons and allow for outdoor religious services.
It will also allow for two households to socialize together and permit carpooling if there are only two people in the vehicle, one in the front and one in the back.
In addition, post-secondary students who need to access campus to fulfill their course requirements are now allowed to do so.
“The goal of this phase is to balance the reopening of social and economic settings while preventing a major resurgence of transmission,” Higgs said.
In the second, “yellow” phase, which will begin in two to four weeks, retail stores, restaurants, and offices will be allowed to open, following established social-distancing guidelines.
In that phase, daycare, camps and childcare facilities can open, along with campgrounds and ATV trails.
Hospitals and clinics will also begin doing elective surgeries and provide priority health services.
If the province can then continue to go for three to four weeks without a new wave, more high-contact businesses can reopen. Those include hairstylists and barbers, fitness facilities, dental care and massage therapy, among others.
The goal of the yellow phase is to increase the reopening of social and economic activity after the ability to control transmission has been demonstrated.
Although restaurants may be able to reopen soon, places like bars have a long way to go. Festivals, concerts and other large gatherings are also prohibited until at least December 31.
Only in the final, “green” phase, can bars and activities like organized sports and concerts resume operations.
This phase will likely only come after a vaccine is available or there’s more information on how to protect people from the virus.
The difference between when bars and restaurants can reopen concerns physical distancing measures, says Russell.
“In a bar type situation, people are standing up and they’re in closer contact. In a restaurant situation they’re sitting down, and there’s not the same mingling in terms of being able to social distance,” she said. “With public health measures that we would want to keep in place, it is all about maintaining social distancing, and the capability of a business or an organization to be able to maintain that.”
The phased plan will allow health experts to watch and evaluate the impact of easing restrictions. Those measures may be reinstated at any time to protect public health, based on provincial, regional or local circumstances like unlinked community outbreaks or cases that can’t be traced.
A guidance document of the public health measures during the recovery phases is being developed and will be available soon.
With files from Mark Leger.
A version of this story was published in Huddle, an Acadia Broadcasting content partner.
