Windsor-Essex among regions left out of province's second reopening stage

As the provincial government moves ahead with the second phase of its reopening plan, Windsor-Essex is among the regions that will need to wait.

On Monday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced 24 of Ontario's 34 public health units will be allowed to move into Phase 2. In those areas, restaurants, bars and food trucks will be able to open for outdoor dining on patios and in parking lots or adjacent premises.

Windsor-Essex, however, is among the 10 health unit regions not included on the list.

Monique Tomaselli, owner of Salon 892 on Erie Street, said the announcement came as a surprise to her and fellow hair salon owners across the Windsor-Essex region who have been working to meet proper health guidelines to ensure the public's safety.

"We've been closed for three months. That is a hard thing on any size business," said Tomaselli, calling for the provincial government to provide financial aid for businesses in regions not allowed to enter Stage 2 of reopening. "We want it to end."

"We've had meetings from the first month of closure on what we were going to do to maintain standards and do it properly and safely. Today's announcement just blew me away."

Nick Politi, owner of Nico Taverna, said while it's disappointing to know Windsor-Essex was left out of the second stage of reopening, it doesn't make too much of a difference to him since he wants restaurants to be permitted to host patrons inside, rather than only on outdoor patios.

"Even if it's 50 per cent capacity," said Politi. "With the restrictions on patios, there's only so many seats we can put there as it is — I think it might be 20, lucky to have 30 seats out there."

Politi said he was hoping the province would announce restaurants in Windsor-Essex could reopen, considering Detroit is moving ahead in that direction.

Premier Ford announces regional approach to stage two of reopening Ontario

4 years ago

Duration 3:17

Twenty-four of Ontario's 34 public health units will be allowed to move into Phase 2 on Friday. The remaining 10, concentrated primarily in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) and near the U.S.-Canada border, will need to wait until new daily case numbers consistently decrease.

"I'm really surprised and very disappointed. Everybody's ready," he said. "Everybody I've talked to is ready for this to stop. But I'm not going to second-guess the health experts."

For the 10 regions not permitted to enter Stage 2, Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams said Monday that could change "in a week or two weeks time" if COVID-19 cases see a consistent decrease.

As of Friday, the entire province — including Windsor-Essex — will be permitted to hold social gatherings of 10 people.

On Monday, the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit reported nine new cases for the region, bringing the total up to 1,023 confirmed cases of the disease.