Ranade asks people to limit contact to your own family

Restaurants and hair salons will be among those able to open Tuesday as Lambton begins its reopening Tuesday.

The province announced today Lambton will be in the Orange-Restrict level of the province’s reopening framework Tuesday.

“It is very important for our community to view these changes as a gradual transition with many restrictions and recommended actions still required,” said Dr. Ranade, Medical Officer of Health for the County of Lambton in a news release.

“Be diligent and limit trips in the community to only essential needs, maintain close contacts with only those in your household, and in doing so you will allow services in the community to operate safely.”

Under the Orange-Restrict phase, there can be 10 people indoors and 25 outdoors for social gatherings. Public gatherings will be allowed to 50 people indoor and 100 people outdoor. Religious services will be able to operate at 30 per cent capacity or 100 outdoors.

Restaurants will be able to have up to 50 people indoors with two metres and a barrier between them. Masks have to be worn when patrons are not eating. Customers will also have to be screened. Liquor can only be sold until 9 pm and the restaurant has to close at 10. Dancing, singing and musical performance is permitted with restrictions.

Gyms will be open, with limits around how close patrons can be. Arenas will also be allowed to reopen with parents being on hand to watch.

Meeting and event spaces will be able to reopen with capacity of 50 people indoors or 100 outdoors.

Retail stores will be able to be open with 50 per cent capacity. Retailers have to have signs on doors warning customers not to enter if they have COVID-19 symptoms. People waiting in lines outdoors will also have to be two meters apart.

Personal services, like hair salons can reopen, with the same capacity limits as retail. They’ll have to take contact information from patrons and follow the same guidelines as before Christmas. Services that would require someone to take off their face mask are still prohibited.

Bingo halls, casinos, theaters and movie theaters can all open with 50 people in attendance indoors and 100 outdoors.

Lambton is the only public health unit in the area in the Orange-Restrict zone. Both London, Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent are in Red zone – the most restrictive stage before lockdown.