Many parts of Ontario are moving into Stage 3 of reopening the economy Friday Jul. 17, 2020, with the Waterloo Region among the municipalities proceeding with this latest stage.
In addition to the services and businesses permitted to reopen, limits on social gathering have increased to 100 people outdoors and 50 indoors.
These services include dine-in restaurants, gyms, playgrounds, performing arts, and movie theatres.
In addition, gyms such as Goodlife Fitness will also be reopening with similar public health guidelines, including wearing a mask at all times except while exercising.
The gym encourages members to book online to keep track of capacity limits.
Goodlife Fitness gyms in Kitchener on Fairway Road and by Williamsburg Town Centre as well as in Waterloo on Weber Street are reopening Friday July 17.
Certain restaurants will also be reopening their dining room, such as the Scottish Public House Scran and Dram, in New Hamburg.
As of Friday, dine in seating will become available via reservation, in addition to patio seating.
“Our dining will reopen on Friday at 11:30, and o’course, our patio & takeout service will continue! Give us a call to recessive a table inside!” Scran & Dram wrote on their Instagram.
Movie theatres may only have 50 people in a building, while amusement parks, waterparks, and buffet restaurants are still prohibited from reopening.
Theatres like Princess Cinemas will reopen on Friday with COVID-19 restrictions, including a strict occupancy limit of 25 people a mandatory mask-wearing policy while in the building. Princess Cinemas will be screening starting Friday, as well as continuing their annual pop-in drive on Thursday evening in July and August.
Apollo Cinemas will be reopening on Friday. Jun, 26, 2020, with seats available only through online reservation.They are also looking for a shift manager, more information can be found on their Instagram @apollocinema.
Larger chain theatres like Cineplex and Landmark will remain closed in Waterloo.
“I think once the health crisis subsides, I’m quite confident that the desire for people to be out, and be together, and share a movie experience on a big screen is something that’s going to be demanded in the market,” said Bill Walker, CEO of Landmark Cinemas.
The province must also still adhere to public health guidelines which include wearing a mask – in accordance with the by-law in the Waterloo Region making masks mandatory – a physical distance of two meters, and social circles remaining at ten people.
“As more businesses and settings reopen, we continue to have a collective responsibility to protect each other — we must move forward with the utmost vigilance and I ask all residents to please continue to follow the public health measures to slow the spread of COVID-19 in our community,” Dr. Hisu-Li Wang, the region’s acting medical officer of health said to CBC.
Despite this, many people remain hesitant about the reopening. The Waterloo Region said it will continue to take measures to keep everyone safe and healthy possible.
More information can be found on the Ontario website.
