Border towns have to wait: province

Petrolia Mayor Brad Loosley is disappointed Lambton County will not be reopening more businesses Friday.

Premier Doug Ford announced you will now be able to gather in groups of up to 10 and churches will be able to reopen, although only 30 per cent of the building can be used.

The premier added 24 regions would be able to reopen more businesses Friday including opening outdoor patios at restaurants and bars, opening hair salons tattoo parlours, barber shops and beauty salons, guided tours of places like wineries and breweries, opening outdoor splash pads swimming pools, and beaches, private camping.
Outdoor recreational facilities can be used, with social distancing.
Drive in and drive through theatres, concerts, animal attractions and art installations are okay.

But Lambton County will not be able to expand their offerings since it is not on the list of regions which can further open.

At the beginning of a council meeting Monday afternoon Loosley said county officials and the medical officer of health are looking into why Lambton isn’t on that list.

“We’re hoping to to resolve this or at least hopefully in a week or so to move on so we’re allowed to do some of the items in stage two.”

During the news conference announcing the changes Health Minister Christine Elliott hinted border regions are under extra scrutiny.

Hayley Chazan, the senior manager of media relations for the minister of health, confirms there are concerns with border communities. Windsor-Essex and the Niagara Region are among the communities which cannot open further.

“In consultation with local medical officers of health, border regions, including Lambton, are remaining in stage one as we continue to keep a close eye on essential travellers and their potential impact on new cases,” says Chazon in an email to The Independent.

“At the beginning of each week, the government will provide an update on the ongoing assessment of these regions, and whether they are ready to move into stage two at the end of the week.”