TORONTO -- Mayor John Tory says when businesses do begin to reopen in Toronto, the “new normal” will likely involve more planning, including making reservations for everything from sitting on a patio to picking up clothing from a store.
“I think that people should get used to the fact that for a lot of thing, they are going to have to make an appointment,” Tory said during an interview with CP24 on Monday morning.
“If you think about how restaurants will reopen, I doubt it is going to be the case they'll just reopen and you can just wonder in off the street and just sit down.”
He added that he expects many businesses will initially reopen with curbside pickup only.
“I think people should get used to a new normal for a while and that they will involve more planning and more appointments to control the number of people that in a place at a given time so the virus doesn't come back,” he said.
Starting today, a handful of businesses in the province have been permitted to reopen, including garden centres, which can now offer curbside pickup and delivery.
“I think it is a good way to ease in and I think the province is on the right track just going at a measured pace,” Tory said.
“I think that we need to start reopening all of these different kinds of businesses in a measured way.”
The mayor said the behaviour of the public will dictate, to some extent, how the city and province choose to reopen businesses.
He noted that on Saturday, the most recent data available to the city, bylaw officers only issued seven tickets to people not following the rules surrounding physical distancing and facility closures.
“In a city of 3 million people on a really nice day... that's not too bad,” Tory said. “I think if people exercise personal responsibility this will all be very successful.”
