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Ontario Temporarily Moving to Modified Step Two of the Roadmap to Reopen
Effective January 5, 2022 for at least 21 days (until January 26, 2022) the province will return to the modified version of Step Two of the Roadmap to Reopen. These measures include:
- Reducing social gathering limits to 5 people indoors and 10 people outdoors.
- Requiring businesses and organizations to ensure employees work remotely unless the nature of their work requires them to be on-site.
- Limiting capacity at indoor weddings, funerals, and religious services, rites and ceremonies to 50%. Outdoor services are limited to the number of people that can maintain 2 metres of physical distance.
- Retail settings permitted at 50% capacity.
- Personal care services permitted at 50% capacity and other restrictions. Saunas, steam rooms, and oxygen bars closed.
- Public libraries limited to 50% capacity.
- Closing indoor dining at restaurants, bars and other food or drink establishments. Outdoor dining with restrictions, takeout, drive through and delivery is permitted.
- Restricting the sale of alcohol after 10 p.m. and the consumption of alcohol on-premise in businesses or settings after 11 p.m. with delivery and takeout, grocery/convenience stores and other liquor stores exempted.
- Closing indoor concert venues, theatres, cinemas, rehearsals and recorded performances permitted with restrictions.
- Closing museums, galleries, zoos, science centres, landmarks, historic sites, botanical gardens and similar attractions, amusement parks and waterparks, tour and guide services and fairs, rural exhibitions, and festivals. Outdoor establishments permitted to open with restrictions and with spectator occupancy, where applicable, limited to 50% capacity.
- Closing indoor horse racing tracks, car racing tracks and other similar venues. Outdoor establishments permitted to open with restrictions and with spectator occupancy limited to 50% capacity. Boat tours permitted at 50% capacity.
- Closing indoor sport and recreational fitness facilities including gyms, except for athletes training for the Olympics and Paralympics and select professional and elite amateur sport leagues. Outdoor facilities are permitted to operate but with the number of spectators not to exceed 50% occupancy and other requirements.
- All publicly funded and private schools will move to remote learning starting January 5 until at least January 17, subject to public health trends and operational considerations.
- School buildings would be permitted to open for child care operations, including emergency child care, to provide in-person instruction for students with special education needs who cannot be accommodated remotely and for staff who are unable to deliver quality instruction from home.
- During this period of remote learning, free emergency child care will be provided for school-aged children of health care and other eligible frontline workers.
- To learn more, read the News Release.
Ontario's Roadmap to Reopen
On May 20, 2021, the province released the Roadmap to Reopen, which outlines the three-step plan that will guide a safe and gradual reopening of the province and the lifting of public health measures based on the provincewide vaccination rate and improvements in key public health and health system indicators.
Grants and Financial Support:
For the latest Provincial updates, visit Ontario's Newsroom.
Please sign up for the Woolwich Business Newsletter to receive updates from the Economic Development and Tourism Department.
FREE Masks for Woolwich Businesses
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Thank you to Eclipse Automation of Cambridge, ON, for the generous donation of level-3 surgical grade masks to the Township of Woolwich and greater Region of Waterloo.
We are pleased to be able to coordinate the FREE supply of masks to small and medium size businesses (50 or fewer employees) in the Township of Woolwich.
Request your masks by completing the mask distribution form.
To purchase Canadian made PPE, you can visit the Supply and Protect website.
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Preventing COVID-19 in the Workplace
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Rapid Point of Care (POC) Testing
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Fact Sheets:
Employers - POCTestingEmployers.pdf
Employees - POCTestingIndividuals.pdf
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Business Screening Requirements
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Public Health requires all businesses to screen patrons and workers before entering or coming to work.
Patrons - Active Screening:
Businesses listed in the Provincial COVID-19 Screening Tool must actively screen when they are in the accompanying colour zone.
It is up to the business to determine how they will screen, whether it be requesting the customer to complete in hard copy or use the online customer screening tool at the time of entry or prior, with proof they completed it.
Patrons - Passive Screening:
All other organizations can passively screen, and can do so by displaying a sign at the business entrance in accordance with the COVID-19 Signage Questions for Businesses and Organizations.
Employee Screening:
Workplaces must ensure all employees screen before coming to work. The province created the online COVID-19 Worker and Employee Screening tool to make screening easier.
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Accessing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
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Find supplies here:
- Accessible PPE for the Waterloo Region
- Ontario's Workplace PPE Supplier Directory
- Buy/ Sell PPE on the Rapid Response Platform initiated by BASF
Sell supplies here:
- Apply to be added to Ontario’s list Workplace PPE Supplier Directory
Sell/ Buy PPE on the Rapid Response Platform initiated by BASF
- Sell through Canada’s COVID-19 Public Tender platform
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Public Health Posters and Signage
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Mental Health
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Here4Help is an online repository of useful tools and techniques to manage the stresses of dealing with COVID-19. This website is a complimentary support to the direct service that is offered by CMHA Waterloo Wellington and Community Partners.
More than ever, staying healthy now means protecting our mental health. Despite anxiety and uncertainty, work still needs to get done, children need structure and attention, and daily meals need to be prepared. Taking care of our mental health, and discovering our own resilience is even more important now, so that we are able to cope with stress, and care for others who depend on us. Here you can find resources, information, and guidance to help navigate this ‘new and temporary’ normal.
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The Region of Waterloo, all seven area municipalities, Waterloo EDC (Waterloo Region Economic Development Corporation) and local partners have created the Business and Economic Support Team of Waterloo Region (BESTWR) to help all types of local businesses cope with challenges caused by COVID-19.
This group will encourage businesses to continue to reach out to their existing economic development contacts with any inquiries or needs, and common requirements will filter up through the Business and Economic Support Team. The group will also work closely with the Regional Pandemic Control Group to ensure a coordinated community response to the COVID -19 pandemic.
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