October 30, 2020
Communication advisory
Re: Province of Ontario update regarding current COVID-19 Hotspots
Attention: Special Olympics Ontario Communities, Clubs, Volunteers,
Athletes, Partners, Associates and Families
The Province of Ontario has now mandated that four regions (Toronto, Peel, Ottawa and York Region) are in a modified Stage 2 status. Additionally, the province’s chief medical officer of health has also stated: “In addition, travel to other regions in the province, especially from higher transmission to lower transmission areas, should only be for essential purposes.”
In response to the new mandate, we have outlined some clarifications around the Special Olympics Ontario programs:
- Sport training sessions may continue but must not engage in any games or scrimmage type drills in all parts of the province
- Sport training sessions located within the Modified Stage 2 Regions must reduce their maximum gathering limits (10 for indoor training sessions, 25 for outdoor training sessions)
- We do not classify Special Olympics training sessions as an essential service and therefore, athletes and coaches/volunteers should not be crossing regional borders to attend a Special Olympics training session. For example, an individual should not be travelling from Peel Region to Halton Region to attend a sport training session (and vice versa)
With the current restrictions in place in those Modified Stage 2 Regions, Special Olympics Ontario will be considering multiple variables in approving the Return to Program applications within those regions.
We as an organization maintain our primary focus is the health and safety of our membership and their families and continue to focus on virtual programming to ensure all Special Olympics Ontario members stay healthy and engaged at this time.
