I live in Stratford, Ontario, a small city of 32,000 half-way between Kitchener-Waterloo and London. The infection rate in Perth County is very low and only five -- yes, five -- people here have died of COVID-19, but we are surrounded by much larger municipalities where the risk level is frankly scary, especially since people who live there like to come here in their leisure time to wander in the park, eat ice cream and feed the swans. Stratford folks honestly can't help feeling hostile to visitors although our local economy is in deep trouble without tourism.

We had a pub lunch last Saturday on a patio (previously a parking lot) in a party of seven, including my husband's brother and his family and their friend who rents the basement suite in their house. All the wait staff wore masks and blue Nitrile gloves, as well as the apparently obligatory (certainly universal) baseball cap, T shirt and shorts. Except for the loud rock music blaring from speakers on the pub roof, it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience, although I was taken a bit aback by the brisk recital of rules for using the pub washroom.

"Everybody has a mask? Great. When you go in the main door, put on your mask and sanitize your hand. Washrooms are toward the back on the left; don't take off your mask until you're inside and you have locked the door. Wash your hands after, and put your mask back on. You can take it off again once you're outside."

Oy. Fortunately, I managed to avoid the necessity.

Ontario and Quebec are both seeing a slight up-tick in cases, all in densely populated areas. Quebec began easing up on the quarantine rules before Ontario did, most notably with respect to drinking establishments and entertainment venues, and their rates are climbing faster. Toronto is still in Stage 2 -- take-out and curbside service only, except for essential businesses such as supermarkets and Canadian Tire -- but most of the rest of the province is in Stage 3, with patio dining, and haircuts and gym workouts allowed by appointment. (The data collection for contact tracing at my hair-cuttin' parlour was quite impressive.) At the same time, however, Ontario now has a province-wide public health edict in place requiring masks for everybody in all public indoor spaces. No more Mr Nice Guy.