Hastings, Lennox and Addington MPP Daryl Kramp says he’s hopeful that stage one of the Reopening Ontario Plan will be able to begin sooner than anticipated.
In a tweet Wednesday afternoon Kramp referenced the announcement that schools will not reopen this school year saying that it was “to try for an earlier than planned Stage 1 reopen in June.”
The first stage of the Ontario Reopening Plan is slated to begin the week of June 14.
This stage includes outdoor gatherings of up to 10 people, outdoor dining for up to four people per table, essential retail capacity at 25%, and non-essential retail at 15%.
This, of course, hinges on a number of things including a minimum of 60% of adults having had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and downward trends in case rates as well as hospital and ICU admissions.
When asked about the potential for the first stage to begin a full week earlier, June 7, Kramp told Quinte News that nothing was set in stone, though they are hopeful.
“There’s potential, it all depends on numbers. Obviously, the June 14, those are not absolutes. Those are just guidelines based on numbers. We’re hopeful with the signs that we’re seeing that we’re going to be able to advance the schedule for June 7.”
Kramp said that things are looking “more favourable” at this point and that the primary concern as of now is the COVID-19 variant that originated in India. He said that if they can prevent that variant from spreading that he’s “very, very hopeful” about advancing the schedule.
He also said that the recent ramp-up in vaccinations in the province is a large part of it.
“Obviously, for the first time in a long time we’ve had a lot more vaccines lately available to us so we’ve been able to vaccinate people very, very aggressively. This week in particular we have another huge, huge influx of vaccines and we anticipate as well that that’s going to translate into more and more people vaccinated which then gives us the opportunity to be able to set the standards that we’re looking for”
He said he’s hopeful that if the first stage can begin early, then the subsequent stages will also begin ahead of schedule and the province can move closer to a sense of normalcy.
For more information on the Ontario Reopening Plan click here.
