More of Ontario will be reopening on Friday.  Premier Doug Ford has announced seven more regions will move into Stage 2 of the reopening process.

Those regions include:

  • Durham Region Health Department;
  • Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit;
  • Halton Region Health Department;
  • Hamilton Public Health Services;
  • Lambton Health Unit;
  • Niagara Region Public Health Department; and
  • York Region Public Health Services.

“Thanks to the collective efforts of our frontline health care workers and the people in these regions to stop the spread of COVID-19, more businesses will be able to open their doors and thousands of people will be able to go back to work and put food on the table,” said Ford. “With the public health trends improving day by day across the province, I am hopeful all regions of Ontario will enter Stage 2 very soon. But we must remain on our guard to prevent any potential surge or secondary wave by continuing to follow the sound advice of our public health officials.”

These areas join the 24 other public health unit areas that saw patios and malls reopen, hair stylists and barbers back to work, among other businesses open last Friday.

The following three areas will remain in Stage 1:

  • Peel Public Health;
  • Toronto Public Health; and
  • Windsor-Essex County Health Unit.

Ford says these regions still have a high number of cases but are “doing better” and says it shouldn’t be much longer before they open but says caution is still needed, “Please be patient because we can’t let our guard down.”