Region of Waterloo to reopen main administrative buildings Monday as part of COVID-19 recovery

The Region of Waterloo will reopen its main administrative buildings on Monday after being given the green light to move into Stage 2of the COVID-19 recovery planby the province.

Regional council approved a framework for reopening the region last week. The region's CAO Mike Murray said Tuesday during a media briefing thatthe plan is a "gradual, thoughtful, incremental approach to reopening services."

The offices at 150 Frederick St.in Kitchener, 99 Regina St.in Waterloo and 150 Main St. in Cambridge will open on Monday with some changes. Murray says people can expect to see clear plastic shields at customer service areas, more hand sanitizer stations and measures to ensure people inside the building keep a physical distance of at least two meters.

The region's acting medical officer of health Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang says she was consulted by the province about reopening.

"I felt that the region was moving in a good direction, we were seeing some positive signs," Wang said of what she told the province. "I did not have any concerns with the province's plans to move to Stage2for Waterloo region."

The region reported two new cases of COVID-19 as of Tuesday morning, bringing the total to 1,176. More than 80 per cent of the cases have been marked as recovered. The number of people who have died from the virus has remained at 115 for more than a week.

Wang said now, they will need to monitor the effects of the reopening and for people in the region to continue to follow public health measures.

Public health not concerned about out-of-towners

The province announced on Monday that Waterloo region would be allowed to enter Stage 2of the recovery starting just after midnight on Friday. The areas of Toronto, Hamilton and Windsor, however, are not allowed to move on from Stage 1.

Wang says she's not concerned about people from Toronto or Hamilton coming to the region and potentially bringing with them the risk of spreading COVID-19.

"I expect that most of the people that will be enjoying the activities that we are now allowed to do will be residents of Waterloo region," she said.

She said whether people live here or are just visiting, she hopes they will continue to follow public health's guidelines.

"I really ask that people continue to do the physically distancing and the other things we've recommended because that's going to be our new normal and that's going to be the key way that we keep infections at a relatively low level going forward," Wang said.

Limited capacity on patios

Murray added he thinks there'spotential people will come from out of townbut said reality is, capacity on the patios of local restaurants and bars is limited.

"If you look around Waterloo region and you think about how many spots to sit at an outdoor patio exist, it's relatively limited," Murray said.

He said people coming from out of town may find themselves waiting in long lines. As well, bylaw, police and public health inspectors will be out at places allowed to open, including patios, splash pads and personal service businesses, to ensure people are following provincial guidelines on how to operate or use those spaces.

Regional Chair Karen Redmanstressed the importance of following public health guidelines.

"We've come a long way;however, we don't have a vaccine and catching COVID-19 is still a community risk," Redman said.

Murray also noted while some businesses are allowed to reopen as of Friday, it won't be business as usual right away.

"There's still some pretty significant restrictions in place. And some of the other amenities and services that are opening up, they're also going to have restrictions around physical distancing, number of people in an establishment at once," he said.

"Although I think it's really a great move and it's going in the right direction, people are going to have to be quite patient."