Restaurants, Gyms, Salons, And Other N.S. Businesses Can Reopen June 5
HALIFAX—Nova Scotia businesses that were forced to close by Covid-19 public health measures will be allowed to reopen June 5.
Premier Stephen McNeil made the announcement today, saying he believes the province has “found a balance between public safety and restarting our economy.”
“We are still moving slowly but this is a good first step,” McNeil said
McNeil said “most” businesses affected by public health measures will be allowed to reopen. Those businesses include:
- Restaurants (including for dine-in services);
- Bars, wineries, distilleries and taprooms;
- “Personal services” like hair salons, barbershops, spas, nail salons, and tattoo parlors;
- Fitness facilities like gyms, yoga studios, and climbing facilities;
- Dentists and other “self-regulated health professions” such as optometrists, chiropractors, and physiotherapists;
- Unregulated health professions like massage therapists, podiatrists, and naturopaths;
- Veterinarians
Childcare services will have to wait a few extra weeks before they will be allowed to open. Lounges will also not be allowed to open June 5 and the government gave no timeline for when they can.
Dr. Robert Strang, the province’s chief medical officer of health, said any business planning to open June 5 must “follow plans that ensure public health protocols have been met.”
That means finding a way to maintain social distancing, increasing cleaning, provide more access to handwashing, and supporting mask usage.
Restaurants will be allowed to open at 50 percent of their usual capacity as long as they can maintain two metres between tables. Strang said they will also have to limit table sizes based on the maximum group size allowed under public health rules.
Any other business that’s too small to accommodate physical distancing rules will also have to limit their capacity based on public health’s maximum group size.
The provincial government has been working with industry groups to develop plans for how each sector of the economy will safely reopen. Strang said an industry plan must be approved by the government in order for businesses in that sector to open.
He said the responsibility to complete those plans lies with each industry, but that the government is “working urgently” to approve any plans that are submitted.
Strang said he believes the rules strike a good balance between “continuing to control Covid-19 and, importantly, reopening our economy and our society.”
Grant Program Will Help Small Businesses Reopen
McNeil also announced today a $25 million grant program to support businesses reopening.
Eligible small businesses (such as dental clinics and independent gas stations), not-for-profit organizations, and social enterprises will be given grants of up to $5,000 to help them reopen safely.
Along with grant money, they will also receive a $1,500 voucher to help access consulting services.
The money and voucher, McNeil said, will help small organizations who may have to “operate under entirely new conditions, and maybe even change [their] business models.”
Applications for the program open June 1 and will be available online here.