Thunder Bay businesses prepare for orange category restrictions

Many businesses in Thunder Bay and surrounding communities might be adjusting to new COVID-19 restrictions come Monday.

The city is expected to be bumped into the province's orange-restrict category in the COVID-19 framework. The Thunder Bay District Health Unit (TBDHU) and the city's Municipal Emergency Control Group (MECG) confirmed they are anticipating the change to be announced Friday afternoon.

The new category lists additional restrictions for multiple sectors, including restaurants and bars, gyms and fitness centres and personal care services.

Beverly Gashinski is the operations manager at Drift Salon and Day Spa in Thunder Bay Ont. She says her business is looking into everything that the health unit is advising under the new restrictions, and has already implemented further safety measures independently.

"We have been down this road once before, so we're pretty familiar with what it looks like," said Gashinski.

The spa has already introduced screening protocols, which will be required of personal care services under the orange-restrict category. Additionally at Drift Salon and Day Spa, clients who have travelled outside of the region within 14 days are also now required to reschedule appointments.

"We've always exceeded the health units guidelines and recommendations. With COVID we have blocked off an extra 15 minutes after every service that has performed in a room just to allow the girls to properly clean all of, you know, the commonly touched areas of the rooms from floor to ceiling," said Gashinski.

Gashinski said the added restrictions have "hurt business" in some ways, but believes the extra precaution is necessary for the safety of staff and clients.

"I think Drift has been hit just as hard as most of the other businesses that are I guess deemed non-essential. It's challenging times for sure, for everybody here to navigate through the unknown. But we're doing the best we can and with the government support we have been able to keep all of our employees," she added.

Under the orange-restrict category, any personal care services that require the removal of a face mask will be prohibited. Gashinski said staff who normally perform things like facials will be able to focus on other services.

More restrictions coming for restaurants, bars 

As of Thursday afternoon, some restaurants and bars have already started to line up necessary changes under the new restriction category, including Red Lion Smokehouse in Thunder Bay.

"The health and safety of our community and our staff members is paramount to us. So any changes that do happen, you know, we take very seriously. So we've already started to sort of get our ducks in a row in anticipation of the announcement," explained John Murray, Red Lion Smokehouse owner and head chef.

Restaurants and bars are one of the most impacted sectors when it comes to the restrictions under the orange category. New protocols build on previous yellow category restrictions and will require food and drink establishments to close earlier and to further limit the number of guests inside and per table.

"This has just been really challenging for any business owner I think. Just trying to forecast and project into the future. It's really difficult to sort of know and see what we're going to be up against," said Murray when asked how the restrictions will impact his business.

Since COVID-19 cases started to rise in the city, Murray said his restaurant has seen a decline in sales. He said his staff has been working to offer customers as much as possible while keeping everyone safe, including takeout options. He added the restaurant is working on opening an outdoor-winter patio for those who might not feel comfortable dining inside.

"We're lucky enough to have our own sort of private patio area... Sort of like an outdoor lounge set up just to give patrons that option if they do want to dine with us and aren't comfortable dining indoors. Obviously challenging with our, you know, geography and temperatures but we're doing our best," said Murray.

As businesses prepare to make more changes in what has already been a turbulent year, the city and local health officials are urging the public to continue to do "their part."

"The time is now for residents to take this very seriously, to stay home when they can and follow all restrictions in public space," said Mayor Bill Mauro in a media release Thursday. "We continue to move in the wrong direction, and we must do all we can to bring our situation under control. If we don't, we can expect further restrictions in the weeks to come."

The city said it will issue an advisory regarding the impacts on services if Thunder Bay moves into the orange category, which would largely include additional restrictions at recreation facilities.