The Province of Ontario in advance of Step One of Roadmap to Reopen, has now permitted the City to open its splash pads by Saturday, May 22. Many splash pads are already operational and City staff are busy activating all locations.
Children do not need to wear masks while on the splash pad, but parents and guardians are asked to help maintain COVID-safety by:
- Avoiding crowding on the splash pad
- Maintaining your child’s physical distancing from individuals outside your household
- Ensuring they avoid touching their face and common touchpoints on the splash pads
- Washing or sanitizing your child’s hands regularly
Parents and guardians are strongly encouraged to wear masks near splash pads and keep two metres from those outside their household.
The City’s park ambassadors will be touring parks and splash pads to help provide guidance and answer any questions regarding public health guidelines and safety protocols.
Starting tomorrow the Ontario government, in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health, says it will allow more outdoor recreational amenities to reopen, with restrictions in place, effective May 22, 2021 at 12:01 a.m. This is preceeding Step One of the province’s Roadmap to Reopen, a three-step plan to safely and cautiously reopen the province and gradually lift public health measures based on the provincewide vaccination rate and improvements in key public health and health care indicators.
For Step One – Ontario’s initial focus is on resuming outdoor activities with smaller crowds where the risk of transmission is lower, and permitting retail with restrictions. This includes allowing outdoor gatherings of up to 10 people, outdoor dining with up to four people per table and non-essential retail at 15 per cent capacity.
This will be followed by Step Two (see below) 21 days later and Step Three (see below) 21 days after that.
- Step Two – Further expanding outdoor activities and resuming limited indoor services with small numbers of people where face coverings are worn. This includes outdoor gatherings of up to 25 people, outdoor sports and leagues, overnight camps, personal care services where face coverings can be worn and with capacity limits, as well as indoor religious services, rites or ceremony gatherings at 15 per cent capacity.
- Step Three – Expanding access to indoor settings, with restrictions, including where there are larger numbers of people and where face coverings can’t always be worn. This includes indoor sports and recreational fitness; indoor dining, museums, art galleries and libraries, and casinos and bingo halls, with capacity limits.
The province will remain in each step for at least 21 days to evaluate any impacts on key public health and health system indicators. If at the end of the 21 days, the following vaccination thresholds have been met, along with positive trends in other key public health and health system indicators, then the province will move to the next step:
- Step 1: 60 per cent of adults vaccinated with one dose.
- Step 2: 70 per cent of adults vaccinated with one dose and 20 per cent vaccinated with two doses.
- Step 3: 70 to 80 per cent of adults vaccinated with one dose and 25 per cent vaccinated with two doses
Meanwhile, the provincewide emergency brake restrictions remain in effect while the province assesses when it will be moving to Step One of the roadmap with the Stay at Home order expiring on June 2, 2021. During this time, the government will continue to work with stakeholders on reopening plans to ensure full awareness of when and how they can begin to safely reopen.
Check ottawa.ca/recreation for a map to find your nearest splash pad. Splash pads are open daily from 8 am to 9 pm. Also check out ottawasplashpads.ca
Other articles from totimes.ca – otttimes.ca – mtltimes.ca
