{"id":62870,"date":"2020-06-24T12:02:42","date_gmt":"2020-06-24T16:02:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mileniostadium.com\/?p=62870"},"modified":"2020-06-24T12:02:42","modified_gmt":"2020-06-24T16:02:42","slug":"ontarios-2-most-populous-regions-enter-next-phase-of-reopening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mileniostadium.com\/local\/gta\/ontarios-2-most-populous-regions-enter-next-phase-of-reopening\/","title":{"rendered":"Ontario’s 2 most populous regions enter next phase of reopening"},"content":{"rendered":"
Ontario’s two most heavily populated regions will see more businesses open their doors today as Toronto and Peel move into the next phase\u00a0of the province’s COVID-19 recovery plan.<\/p>\n
The two regions officially enter Phase 2 of the pandemic reopening framework, joining nearly all the rest of the province that began ramping up activities over the past two weeks.<\/p>\n Windsor-Essex remains the only region not cleared to move to the next phase, due to stubbornly high COVID-19 case numbers among migrant workers on farms in the region.<\/p>\n The move comes as Ontario reported 163 new cases of COVID-19, the second-fewest on any single day since late March.<\/p>\n The 0.5 per cent increase in cases brings the total in the province to\u00a034,016 since the outbreak began in late January. More than 86 per cent of those confirmed infections of the novel coronavirus are now resolved. Some 299 further\u00a0cases were marked as resolved yesterday, the Ministry of Health says.<\/p>\n There are now 2,049 actives cases of COVID-19 across Ontario, 78 fewer than yesterday.<\/p>\n Thirty of Ontario’s 34 public health units reported five or fewer newly confirmed cases\u00a0\u2014 a new high, according to Health Minister Christine Elliott\u00a0\u2014 while 16 of those reported no additional cases at all.<\/p>\n Toronto and Peel account for 104 of the new cases reported today provincewide.<\/p>\n Businesses given the green light to resume operations in the two regions today include hair stylists, pools and tour guide services.<\/p>\n Restaurants are also allowed to reopen their patios for dine-in service, though no one is yet allowed to be served indoors.<\/p>\n In all cases, the Ontario government says proper physical distancing measures must be maintained to prevent a spike in COVID-19 cases.<\/p>\n Some eateries and bars in Toronto opened their patios to patrons at exactly 12:01 a.m. overnight.<\/p>\n The patio at MARBL Restaurant in downtown Toronto quickly reached capacity.<\/p>\n “We’re just so happy that we can finally open up. It’s been a tough four months, definitely, for us. So we wanted to jump on the opportunity and open up as soon as possible,” said owner Peter Girges.<\/p>\n “I wouldn’t have rushed it if we didn’t know there was a demand for it. At the same time, July 1st is coming up and you can’t get out of the bills on the first of the month. So it’s going to help, every day and every night helps.”<\/p>\nRestaurants opened at 12:01 a.m.<\/h2>\n