Northern Ontario begins its return to 'normal' Friday

Brian Bigger, the City of Greater City of Sudbury's mayor, is calling it a small step "toward normal."

With the province's announcement that some parts of Ontario will begin Phase 2 of its reopening on Friday, Sudburians are getting ready to ease back into a routine.

They will be allowed to congregate in groups no larger than 10. They will also be able to go to places of worship – with some restrictions– and celebrate the first days of summer on a restaurant or bar patio.

In a statement Monday afternoon, Bigger said he is proud of the city for listening to the advice of health experts. But he still wants people to be cautious.

"Let's still remind ourselves of the need to be diligent and safe," Bigger said. "Let's respect space and each other as we are finally able to enjoy just a few of the small aspects of life that we could not access the past couple of months."

Veronica Desjardins, general manager of the Laughing Buddha and the Towne House in downtown Sudbury, said she is "excited" to get the patios opened, although there still aren't a lot of details yet about what precautions bars are expected to take.

"I think we'll probably have to look at doing some reservation based system," she said. " We're not really sure on how to control the traffic flow but we're going to put that in place this week."

Desjardins said she has using the lockdown time to research how other jurisdictions are dealing with operating a bar in a time of pandemic.

"Likely the patio tables are going to be a 6-foot distance...and lining up has to be spaced out," Desjardins said. "We have to take the information down of every single person who comes into the establishment, so that they can track if there is another breakout."

Desjardins said her staff – most of whom she rehired – will be wearing face masks, and there won't be any indoor seating.

People will also be getting the chance to congregate at places of worship. Those facilities will be limited to 30 per cent capacity.

Pastor Todd Manuel of Sudbury's Glad Tidings Church, said the news came as a "bonus," as he was expecting gatherings to be limited to 10 people.

"Now we can actually have the congregation here," he said. "I mean, we've been waiting quite a while. I think last Sunday was our 13th Sunday online only."

"So we're pretty amped up...and we don't have a lot of information yet, but we're pretty excited," Manuel said.