Oakville enters Stage 3 of province’s reopening plan

Halton has been given the green light to enter into the province’s Stage 3 of the reopening plan. That means on Friday, July 24 more town facilities will begin to gradually re-open, including public playgrounds and sports fields for organized play.

“We’re excited to be moving one step further into recovery, and will be pleased to see playgrounds and sports fields back in use this summer. Council and I are committed to ensuring we return services and reopen facilities for our residents in a safe and responsible way. There are many tasks to complete and safety measures to put in place before other recreation facilities can reopen. We ask for your patience,” said Mayor Burton.

The town has over 150 playgrounds, including 100 accessible swings, as well as the outdoor fitness park at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex. Play and fitness equipment will need to undergo safety inspections before they can reopen. Residents are asked to only use the structures that are marked open and continue to stay off the areas that are still closed or taped off until staff can inspect them and ensure all equipment is properly reinstalled.

Once open, the equipment will not be sanitized. Residents are reminded to wash or sanitize their hands after use. Signs will be posted at each location indicating health measures and reminders.

Also starting Friday, the town will begin replacing nets and preparing sports fields for sports organizations to begin organized team play.

In Stage 3, community centres are also permitted to gradually re-open, subject to ensuring the appropriate health and safety measures are in place, as well as limits on gathering sizes. Indoor gathering limits will increase to a maximum of 50 people. Outdoor gathering limits will increase to a maximum of 100 people. In all cases, individuals are required to continue to maintain physical distancing of at least two metres with people from outside their households or social circles.

The town is working with Halton Region and our community user groups to review all of the safety guidelines that need to be in place before we can completely reopen our community centres to the public.

As part of Stage 2, some community centres have already partially opened for summer camps and limited indoor pool use only.

“The health and safety of our residents and staff remain a priority and we must ensure we have the appropriate COVID-19 safety measures in place and that gathering limits can be maintained before reopening these facilities,” said Colleen Bell, commissioner of community services. “We continue to work through our reopening plans and bring back staff to gradually reintroduce programming in a safe and responsible manner. Some spaces will be able to open in the coming weeks.”

The Oakville Centre for Performing Arts remains closed until December 31, 2020.

The town has a COVID-19 recovery framework in place to help guide and support our reopening of programs, services and facilities. Details will be posted as they become available, on our COVID-19 Information page and on the town's Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts.

To find out more about what can and cannot open in Stage 3, visit the Government of Ontario website.