A run down on what is re-opening – questions about beaches

Jun 10, 2020

On Monday, the Province of Ontario reversed course by embracing a regional approach to loosening up on some COVID-19 related restrictions.

As of Friday (June 12), Eastern Ontario will enter Stage 2 of reopening. But as in previous announcements, the rules for reopening are not necessarily cut and dried.

A number of restaurants in the area are either opening their patios on Friday or soon after, but some are not jumping in just yet, preferring to remain offering take-out and delivery only. (See details below)

Provincial campgrounds, which have been limited to backcountry camping since June 1st, will be able to offer car and camper sites as well, and the online booking through Parks Ontario is up and running now, but it is best to call ahead to make sure they are ready to receive campers this weekend. This is good news for fans of Silver Lake and Sharbot Lake Provincial Parks, and it is great news for every business on Hwy 41, north of 7, where 200,000 annual visitors (in a normal season) to Bon Echo Park are the lifeblood of the summer economy.

Not only are the campgrounds open, but the beaches at the campgrounds are permitted to open as well. It pays to call ahead about th beaches, because water samples need to be taken and analysed before the beaches can open, and the tight timelines of the provincial announcement may not give enough time to get the results by this weekend.

Church Services

Churches are allowed to re-open, at 30% capacity. This stipulation is not included in the guidelines, but from at least one media report it seems churches are exempt from the 10 person per gathering limit in the guidelines. Churchgoers are encouraged to contact their own church to find out when services will restart, and under what conditions.

Personal care – hair salons, barbers, spas, etc. are all able to reopen under conditions. Again, check with your favourite specialist to see when they are opening up. Some are certainly opening immediately, others will follow.

Museums – the rules for museums are similar to those that apply in grocery stores; limited entry, one way traffic, two metre distancing. The opening dates and schedule for both the South Frontenac Museum (Hartington) and the Pioneer Museum (Cloyne) are yet to be announced, but they should both be open during their July/August peak seasons.

Municipal Beaches

As far as municipal public beaches and beaches at private campgrounds, the status is not really clear. 

Media reports on Monday said simply that beaches in Ontario would be reopening. However, when asked, at least one local municipality, South Frontenac, said that when they looked at the documentation provided by the Province, it turned out that only beaches in provincial parks are included.

In the document on Ontario.ca, “Reopening Ontario: what’s in each stage”,  under the heading of “Beaches, Parks and Camping” the sentence about beaches says, “Beach access at Ontario Parks will be permitted as part of Ontario Parks' gradual reopening, although measures including limited capacity will be taken at some parks to enable physical distancing.”

The document makes no reference to municipal beaches, or beaches at private campgrounds or resorts, for that matter.

The four beaches in South Frontenac: Davidson, Gilmour Point, Sydenham Point, and McMullen Park; will not be open this Friday.

South Frontenac Clerk Angela Maddocks consulted with KFL&A Public Health.

“Sarah Ryding [Manager of Environmental Health] has indicated that even after contacting the ministry, there isn’t any real clarity on public beaches, they are not explicit in defining exemptions so KFLA Public Health are advising townships in their catchment area that it’s basically up to the municipality,” Maddocks said in an email to the News on Tuesday afternoon (June 9).

In response to this information, which South Frontenac only received on Tuesday afternoon, Maddocks indicated that the township needs to develop procedures for enhanced sanitation for the  public washrooms at two of its beaches before they can open, and also needs to develop protocols so “that the same social distancing, handwashing, group gatherings that apply to other social settings are to be followed at public beaches.”

She said it would be challenging for the township to get everything in place by Friday, so look for the beaches in South Frontenac to open sometime later in the month, at the earliest.

There have been no announcements from other Frontenac jurisdictions as of Tuesday afternoon about beach openings. Cathy MacMunn, Chief Administrative Officer for Central Frontenac was unable to return a phone inquiry on Tuesday, but at the beginning of a township council meeting that afternoon she told the News that she did not see why the 6 beaches in the township: Long Lake, Eagle Lake, Sharbot Lake, Big Clear Lake, Kennebec Lake, and Crow Lake, would not be open on Friday. 

Nothing has been posted about the beaches in North Frontenac , and the News did not contact  the township on Tuesday to find out. Residents should contact the township directly.

Community Halls

Community halls are also on the provincial list of facilities that can reopen, and that will also require municipalities to work out how to make sure they are COVID-19 appropriate going forward. That will likely take time as well.

Patio roundup

It was difficult to get in touch with all of the restaurant and café owners on Tuesday, because some of them are only open from Wednesday or Thursday to Sunday these days, so we looked at website and Facebook pages, in some cases.

On Highway 41, Rosie’s Café will be taking a break from making the very decadent donuts they have been featuring, to put in a patio over the next week or so, to be able to offer table service again.  It appears that Mazinaw Lakeside Resort (north of Cloyne) and the Codfather (Northbrook) are sticking to take-out and delivery for the time being. Addison’s Restaurant cannot open their patio because it is fully enclosed, but they are now offering their full menu for takeout, Thursday to Sunday, from 11am -7pm. Joje Café in Kaladar is reopening on June 24, according to their Facebook feed. In Plevna, North of Seven is also sticking with takeout on Fridays and Saturdays. In Sharbot Lake, the Cardinal Café will have their patio open for use, with service provided at their takeout window. The Maples Restaurant will be opening their patio on Friday with a full menu and table service. The Sharbot Lake Country Inn is sticking with takeout and delivery for now, but they are working on making changes to their patio with a view towards opening it in the coming weeks. 

Neither MOM Restaurant, nor Muddy Waters in Verona have patios under normal circumstances, and they have not made any announcement online that they are planning to expand beyond the takeout service they have been offering. 

Both the Pizza Place and Gino’s Pizza and Spaghetti in Harrowsmith focus mostly on takeout and delivery at all times, and there is no indication they are planning to make any changes. 

Over in Sydenham, the Sydenham Country Café will be opening the tables in front of the café for customer use. A few more table may be added.  Their drive-through window is open.

Lavalee’s Cookery in Inverary is sticking with the Grab and Go theme, but has added Kawartha Dairy ice cream to their offerings, and Paradiso Pizza offers take-out only at all times.

In Battersea, the Country Manor will be opening their patio, Jeff’s, this Friday. It will be open Thursday to Saturday from 4pm-10pm and Sunday from 4pm-8pm going forward. They continue to offer take-out. Finally, The Creekside Bar and Grill may or may not have patio service available by this weekend. If not this week, it will be coming soon. As with all of the information listed above, it is subject to change. The businesses have all been scrambling since March 17 to comply with rules and guidelines, and that continues into this latest change. It will take at least a week for things to settle down for them, so call ahead.