Ford announces phase one of economic reopening plan to begin Thursday

"While we've made significant progress, we still have a long way to go," said Ford. "We're making steady progress."

Ford said that his government was talking to business owners to help "inform the next steps," noting that there were now over 80 workplace guidelines, which can be found at Ontario.ca

Ford said "more good news" was coming on Thursday, regarding getting people back to work and "slowly getting back to normal."

"On Thursday we will share more good news," said Ford. "More good news about getting people to work, more good news about opening more places and getting paychecks out the door and more good news about slowly getting back to normal."

No specifics were provided as to what was going to be announced on Thursday, but Ford did allude to the reopening of "more low-risk workplaces, seasonal businesses and essential services."

Some of the details of the first phase include allowing a "greater number of individuals to attend some events, such as funerals."

"I have confidence in businesses. They are already getting ready to open up and they are very responsible. The vast majority if businesses are doing everything they can to protect their staff and customers," Ford continued.

Ontario's framework for reopening calls for a two-to-four week period between each phase.