Municipalities in Halton will be removing a pause on team sports and fitness classes as the region moved into a less restrictive level of Ontario’s new COVID-19 response framework on Friday.
Both Burlington and Oakville will be lifting their suspensions on Saturday, Nov. 7 with the move into the yellow “Protect” category of the provinces targeted plan to limit the spread of the coronavirus while keeping schools and businesses open.
Under the revised measures team sports can resume with modifications – including no physical contact and limits of 50 people per league.
Exercise and fitness classes are also able to proceed with limits of 10 people per room indoors and 25 outdoors. At least three metres of distance will be required for participants.
Burlington and Oakville opted to follow advice from the region’s medical officer putting a pause on games inside sports facilities and on outdoor sports fields in mid-October. The pause also included city-run gyms, aquatics and recreational skating.
At the time, Dr. Hamidah Meghani urged residents to suspend activities at indoor fitness classes and refrain from joining scrimmages or games with sports teams following an increase in virus cases linked to group activities.
Meghani is still recommending a limit on close contact to just household members and reducing non-essential activities outside of the home.
Burlington will re-introduce its in-person adult fitness programs, with modifications in early 2021 for the winter season. Registration for aquatic fitness programs will resume on Sunday, Nov. 9, and pickleball programs will also resume on Sunday for all players already registered.
Halton Region reports 57 new COVID-19 cases, two new deaths
Halton region reported 57 new COVID-19 cases on Friday.
The region has 333 active cases as of Nov. 6, with Oakville accounting for 149 and Burlington accounting for 70 cases.
Two new deaths have been recorded at the Amica Georgetown retirement home on Maple Avenue which has been in an outbreak since Oct. 19.
The home is dealing with 17 COVID-19 cases as of Friday involving 16 residents and a single staff member.
Halton has 13 outbreaks which includes seven institutions and two schools.
The institutional outbreaks involve more than 130 people at four long-term care homes (Chartwell Waterford, Post Inn Village, and Wyndham Manor in Oakville, as well as Chartwell Brant Centre in Burlington) and three retirement homes (Village of Tansley Woods in Burlington, Traflager Lodge in Oakville, and Amica Georgetown).
The outbreak at Chartwell Waterford involves 51 people – 38 residents, eight staff members and five others connected with the home.
The facility has recorded three deaths since the outbreak began on Oct. 13.
Tansley Woods has 45 total cases involving 34 residents, 10 staff and one other person. The facility has had seven deaths since the outbreak began on Oct. 13.
Halton has 2,468 total COVID-19 cases and 38 coronavirus related deaths since the pandemic began.
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