Don't bet that moving to Stage 2 from Stage 1 is just a matter of a couple of weeks. This is the government's position: "There will be two-to-four weeks between the launch of each stage to allow health officials to assess conditions before moving to the next one." So, after 2-4 weeks they'll "assess." The assessment will include looking for "a consistent two-to-four week decrease in the number of new daily COVID‑19 cases." "Decrease" being the key word. Not "flat-line" but "decrease." With some things open this weekend and with Stage 1 fully starting on Tuesday it will be interesting to see how the case numbers look by the first week of June. But there's no guarantee that Stage 2 will come 2-4 weeks after Stage 1. It could be 2-4 months or longer. And the suggestion in the opening post that "the criteria for Ontario Stage 2, in addition to allowing for larger public gatherings, allows some businesses to reopen that are more comparable to our work. These include physiotherapy, RMT/Massage Therapy, hair and nail services" is a leap of faith as far as I know. The government hasn't said anything about what businesses will be allowed to open in Stage 2 and which ones will have to wait for Stage 3. If I've missed those specifics, please share them with me.
I think most of the agencies have been very responsible in how they've handled this and I do appreciate the thought put into the issue of re-opening, and I recognize that the agencies have to figure out where they best "fit" in the plan - given that no government is going to say outright "OK. Escort agencies can re-open now." But remember that no safety measures put in place by the agencies are intended to make this business "safe." They're intended to make clients feel safer. But the intimate nature of the business makes actual safety pretty much impossible. I think the "no close contact until after you shower" is kind of silly. I'm all in agreement with showering - but unless you're going to somehow wash your lungs while you shower the shower is actually reather meaningless as far as COVID is concerned. Assuming you shower thoroughly you'll probably destroy virus that's on your body, but vaccine that might be hanging on your body isn't the big risk factor. Neither are hugs in and of themselves. It's the moment you breathe in the general vicinity of your companion (never mind kiss) - or the reverse - that you have potential spread. Showers don't solve that problem. I don't see how any "safety" measures this industry takes are going to be truly effective. They'll just make the clients feel better.
Now, the industry is obviously going to open again. And we're all going to have to make our own decisions, based on a number of factors. How concerned are we about contracting the disease ourselves from the companion? How concerned are we about passing it to the companion? How concerned are we about passing it to family? How concerned are we about being potentially responsible for community transmission? The companions will have to ask themselves those same questions. Some of them (I suspect) may not be exactly "comfortable" getting back into this work, but probably have no choice - no reasonable possibility of employment elsewhere (especially in the near future), limited income now, some have children to raise (and, given recent news about possible health complications in both Europe and the US for children who've contract the disease, they'll have to seriously consider that risk.) There's also (in my opinion) the serious possibility of the industry being harassed by the authorities (not sued, not even necessarily charged with anything - but harassed.) We've already seen a few instances of that happening in various places.
There's no easy answer to any of this and while I'd be generally more comfortable with a later opening than one in the near future, I'm certainly not taking the position that I'll stay away forever or until there's a vaccine. But I don't think I'll be making a booking right away either - and in any event until I'm given the green light to work in my office in the city rather than at home over an hour away it's kind of a moot point. I'm not around to partake even if I wanted to. But I understand there's no perfect timing for re-opening - and that even a vaccine isn't going to be a 100% solution.
