As of Monday March 1 at 12:01 a.m., Simcoe Muskoka will be going into the Grey-Lockdown Zone as per the province's Covid-19 opening framework, and many local business owners are not happy.
For Donna Katz, owner of Genesis Gymnastics, having to shut down her gym after being open for just over a week is frustrating.
"I was completely shocked, this came right out of left field for me," said Katz after hearing the announcement on Friday, "People were just starting to come back and loving it...all my clients are heartbroken."
Katz opened the gym in 2013. Pre-Covid, she had about 300 students enrolled, but now has 157.
"People were slowly starting to come back, so it was a great start," she said. "What's been the most challenging is not being able to run programs fully and trying to recover financially is going to be the biggest hurdle for us," said Katz.
Lindsay Mucci-Provenzanono of Bradford Art School said the school will continue to offer classes while in the Grey Zone, at 25 percent capacity.
"Art is a form of well-being therapy and let's face it mental health is #1 right now," she said. "I stand strong for any businesses who do decide to remain open on Monday through this zone change! I support and will stand united with them all," she said.
Sandra Silva owner of Kangoo Club Bradford, a fitness club she runs from home, is equally as frustrated calling the move to Grey Zone "ridiculous."
"So York is open now and we are closed. How does that make any sense?" she questioned.
"They (the government) are not only hurting small businesses but kids' hope. They (kids) can’t play any activities whatsoever. They can’t socialize with anyone," she said.
For now, Silva will be teaching her classes online to her five regular clients.
"The ladies don’t like it because working out at home is not the same as being together as a community and motivating each other," she said.
Kyle Stephenson who owns Paradigm Martial Arts in town with his brother Jason feels the third lockdown in Simcoe-Muskoka is unjustified.
"We have less daily cases now than when we first came out of lockdown two weeks ago," he said. "It is incredibly frustrating to spend hours and days calling clients to get them back in the Academy after months of being away, only to be shutdown less than two weeks later."
He says his gym is essential for mental health.
"We provide an outlet for stress, exercise, mentorship and guidance, and a positive community in which kids and adults feel they belong," he said. "Our industries, martial arts, dance, yoga, fitness facilities...are among the only ones actually contributing to a healthier society, yet we are always on the chopping block."
He thinks his industry is being discriminated against, and that health officials should be providing evidence that being open is having a negative effect.
"We should have priority to remain open to help combat the negative effects the pandemic has had in our community," he said.
Silvia Mirassol, owner of Got Roots? hair salon in the downtown core was squeezing in clients into the late evening over the weekend.
Mirassol said she was devastated when she heard the announcement on Friday about Simcoe rolling back to lockdown.
"It's crazy that we were almost finishing up our two weeks of being back and boom back in lockdown," she said. "How can any small business survive?"
Mirassol is self-employed and has one stylist who rents a chair inside the salon. She said she doesn't want to take government handouts knowing she will have to pay them back.
"[I'm] just trying to make ends meet and see how it goes. Hoping for the best and hopefully, this lockdown will be shorter," she said.
According to the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit, the region's high presence of the UK variant carries a "substantial risk of a third wave for COVID-19 happening here."
Moving into the Grey Zone is an 'emergency brake' to help stop it from happening, or to limit its severity, read a note on their Facebook page. Cases from the week of February 14-20 were 30 percent higher than the previous week, which they say is a cause for concern.
There is one change to the grey zone rules that can help small businesses in the retail sector.
Retail stores in the grey zone are permitted to remain open at 25 percent capacity.
Kimberly Harvey-Chase who has two locations of her jewellery store, My Lil Gem, one at Upper Canada Mall and one at Georgian Mall, will remain open. At her Barrie store, she will only be allowed customers in to shop at 25 percent capacity, while in her Newmarket store she can accommodate up to 50 percent.
"Limited capacity means lower sales and rent is high," she said. "But being open at least 25 percent is better than nothing."
