7 questions answered (and 3 we're still asking) after reading the N.W.T.'s COVID-19 reopening plan

On Tuesday, N.W.T. officials released their long-awaited reopening plan, which charts the path from total bans on gatheringsto a future where no restrictions are left in place.

The "Emerging Wisely" plan lays out three phases of reduced restrictions based on the time elapsed since the last confirmed, non-travel-related case of COVID-19.

There hasn't been one of those yet all five of the territory's COVID-19 cases have been related to travel, and since recovered.

But health officials say Phase 1, which allows for small gatherings, could begin as early as May 15 and Phase 2, where life looks a little more normal, as early as mid-June.

Here are some questions answered (and a few we're still asking) by the N.W.T.'s COVID-19 reopening plan.

• Can I see my friends again?
• Will I have to go back to the office?
• Will my kids go back to school?
• Can I get a haircut?
• When will bars and restaurants open?
• Will summer sports and summer camps be allowed to go ahead?
• Can I go back to my church / mosque?
• Can I go camping?
• Can I leave (or travel to) the territory?
• When will this all be over?

Can I see my friends again?

After more than a month of legally enforced isolation, residents can once again visit with friends and family within limits.

During Phase 1, the territory will allow indoor gatherings of up to 10 people, with a maximum five people coming from outside the household. Playgrounds will also reopen.

The plan strongly recommends establishing a limited "friendship circle" of regular contacts to minimize your exposure to people who might be carrying the disease.

We're counting on you to use common sense.- Dr. Kami Kandola, chief public health officer

It's also recommended that you still observe a physical distance of two meters, and avoid visiting elderly or vulnerable people in groups.

"We are counting on you to use common sense to protect each other while we all get some relief from being cooped up," the plan reads.

Outside, you're allowed even more freedom gatherings of up to 25 people, with appropriate physical distancing.

When restrictions are relaxed further during Phase 2, indoor gatherings of up to 25 people and outdoor gatherings of 50 people or less will be allowed, with physical distancing. That includes bingos, feasts, barbecues, and sporting events (see below).

But those events will have to stay outside the plan says it's not possible to "mitigate and enforce" public health at bingos, community feasts, garage sales and trade shows, so these indoor gatherings will have to wait until restrictions are lifted entirely.

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Will I have to go back to the office?

Not immediately. The plan advises all non-essential workers to continue working from home, where possible, during Phase 1.

In Phase 2, government offices may open up, providing they don't allow more than 50 people including both staff and clients in the building at one time. Non-essential staff at other offices are allowed to make their way back around the same time.

If you don't work at an office, you might find yourself back at work during Phase 2 as well.

Fitness and community centres, movie theatres, and restaurants will all be allowed to reopen with strict controls on the number of people allowed to enter at any one time.

Tourism operators will also be allowed to offer outdoor services to up to 50 people at a time, though there may be a shortage of tourists the plan doesn't allow for most travel into the territory until there is a vaccine.

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Will my kids go back to school?

For now, this is the biggest unanswered question.

The plan allows for schools to reopen as early as May 18, andDr. Kami Kandola, the territory's chief public health officer, said with no new cases and the end of flu season, "if there is any favourable time to reopen schools, this is it."

But it's not up to the chief public health officer to decide. Local school boards will have to make the call on whether classes can resume before the end of the school year and opening up won't be easy.

The plan requires that during Phase 1, schools provide all staff and students over two years of age with a non-medical mask, and allow for physical distancing.

Schools will have to submit reports showing exactly how they plan to do this. Recommendations from the territory includeprovidingboth online and in-person instruction, and staggering students' class times and recesses,offering half-day instruction in elementary schools. It may also mean more outdoor education.

Teachers will have to keep to the "essential curriculum" only no music, drama, choir, assemblies, or extracurriculars.

Those activities can resume during Phase 2 though physical distancing will have to be maintained.

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Can I get a haircut?

You might have to wait in the mother of all lines to get one, but starting with Phase 1, you'll be able to get your haircut.

"Personal services establishments" will be allowed to reopen with appropriate physical distancing and personal protective equipment. That category includes barbers and hairdressers, but alsospas, nail salons, and naturopaths, and some health services like massage therapists and chiropractors.

You'll be able to show off your new haircut as well Phase 1 allows for museums and art galleries to reopen.

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When will bars and restaurants open?

For those getting tired of takeout, there's some hope on the horizon but not for some time yet.

While food trucks and farmersmarkets can start serving as early as Phase 1, bars and restaurants can only open during Phase 2 (expected around mid-June), and only with some serious limitations.

Bars and restaurants must allow for physical distancing in their layout or use a ticketed entry system, so expect an even longer wait for a table. Nightclubs defined as "locations with dance floors where alcohol is served and food generally is not" will stay closed.

And if you're planning a birthday celebration, be prepared to dial your expectations down the plan specifically prohibits "singing happy birthday" at restaurants and bars.

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Will summer sports and summer camps be allowed to go ahead?

Barring another case of COVID-19, it looks as though summer 2020 is no longer cancelled.

Phase 1 allows for "organized outdoor activities" of 25 people or less. That includes summer camps, softball games, soccer games and community gardens. Beaches can also open for the exquisite, if brief, northern tanning season.

Those activities may not be exactly the same. Gardeners may be accustomed to labouring unappreciated, but softball and soccer players will have to get used to playing without a crowd, at least during Phase 1.

Indoor sports, like volleyball, soccer, and squash, will have to wait until Phase 2 and involve 25 people or less.

Gymnasts will be left waiting even longer. Defined as a "high risk" activity, gymnastics clubs will stay closed until Phase 3 an undefined future date when a second wave of COVID-19 has come and gone in Canada.

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Can I go back to my church / mosque?

Hallelujah! Yes, you can eventually.

In Phase 1, the plan allows for "outdoor faith-based gatherings"limited to 25 people. In Phase 2, indoor worship is allowed again for 25 people at a time.

It might not be exactly as it was before at first.

Churches are asked not to sing indoors or offer communion. Mosques, meanwhile, may need to cancel plans for iftar or Eid, as the plan recommends no communal food or beverages.

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Can I go camping?

Day use areas are open for use even during the containment phase. But campgrounds won't open in their entirety until Phase 2.

That means communal washrooms and showers and campsites for tents and RVs won't be open until mid-June. The plan does allow for cook shelters to open one phase earlier.

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Can I leave (or travel to) the territory?

There are currently no plans for lifting restrictions on entering the N.W.T.and travel is still not recommended at this time.

Travel restrictions are listed under the "long-term measures" designed to prevent the reintroduction of COVID-19 to the territory. That means they'll be among the last lifted after a vaccine is available.

"Those who have travelled outside the territory will continue to be required to self-isolate [for 14 days] upon their return to the N.W.T., with limited exemptions," the plan reads.

That's not great news for tourism operators, who are supposed to be able to cater to 50 people or less by Phase 2.

That said, Premier Caroline Cochrane suggested in a press conference accompanying the release of the plan that she may begin dialogue with other northern premiers to create an unrestricted travel zone within the North.

In the meantime, those who break the order and fail to self-isolate could be responsible for sending the whole territory back a phase, the document says.

If you're really itching for a change of scene, you can always book a "staycation" with a local tourism provider they're allowed to offer services to residents as early as Phase 1.

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When will this all be over?

Phase 1 could begin as early as next week. Assuming there are no new cases that don't result from travel, we could enter Phase 2 as early as June 12.

But from there, the timeline gets significantly murkier.

To get to Phase 3, the territory needs to get its "rapid testing strategy" up and running. At the moment, tests are still being sent to Alberta for evaluation, adding roughly four days to the processing time. That prevents health authorities from seeing when community spread is happening in close to real time, which makes containing the illness harder.

The other requirement is that "a second surge of infections in Canada and the United States has come and gone with new cases falling over time and the epidemiological curves demonstrably flattened."

That hasn't even happened the first time yet, the plan notes.

"Canada's epidemiological curve the number of new cases reported each day compared by date over a period of time has yet to flatten," it reads.

The plan estimates a second wave will hit Canada "between August and October." If that wave comes North, expect a return to Phase 1, or even what the territory calls "containment" total bans on travel and gatherings.

All to say, prepare for the long haul. The freedoms residents enjoy next week could be rolled back in the fall and life won't "go back to normal" until a vaccine is ready to be deployed.

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Read the entire plan here: