- by Hub staff

When Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health announced last week that the whole province would be entering Step 3 of re-opening Friday, July 16, local restaurant owners began to prepare. They re-arranged the furniture and scheduled staff to welcome patrons back to indoor dining.

There were questions about whether Grey Bruce, now with the highest rate of new cases of Covid-19 in the province, would delay Step 3, but our own Medical Officer of Health (MOH), Dr. Arra, repeatedly said re-opening was a go. After a week of unsettled, patio-unfriendly weather, many restaurant owners ordered food for an indoor/outdoor summer weekend of business.

Just after 5 p.m. Thursday, July 15, the doctor announced a “modified step 3” is in place, based on “trust that the public will comply”.

The County of Grey sent the following message just before lunch on Friday, to my home email address. The same message, sent by Dr. Arra, arrived at the OwenSoundHub email at 6:51 p.m.

“Specifically for restaurants and dining establishments, the requirements outlined in the provincial Step 3 apply. This allows for indoor dining with no limits to the number of patrons per table. However, the Grey Bruce Health Unit strongly recommends the patrons continue to dine outside.”

A quick cruise around town on Friday, or through Instagram and Facebook, will show you that different restaurants and customers made different choices. Posted family photos of indoor dinners and requests for patience from restaurant owners were in the mix on social media.

People may have made their decision to eat indoors based on their own fully vaccinated status – now feeling safe whereever they go. Others may be waiting, recognizing that they won't know whether fellow diners or staff are vaccinated.

Some businesses indicated they would be unable to staff both the dining room and patio, so they were sticking with outdoor dining and takeout. Others have made extensive changes to welcome patrons indoors.

A further message from Public Health: “Grey Bruce Health Unit continues to be available to answer any questions on this or any other matter related to COVID-19.”