Ontario allows pro teams to reopen facilities

Find out the latest on COVID-19's impact on the sports world and when sports are returning by subscribing to Breaking News push notifications in the Sports and COVID-19 section.

Ontario cabinet minister Lisa MacLeod announced Friday that professional sports teams in the province are permitted to begin training at their respective club facilities.

"Today we are lifting certain restrictions in a controlled, restricted, sanitized, and voluntary manner to allow for individualized training and conditioning for our major sports teams whose leagues have come forward with rigorous health and safety protocols," MacLeod said.

The order covers NHL, NBA, MLB, MLS, and CFL clubs that play in the province, but it remains up to each league to decide how to proceed. The NHL reportedly said it won't allow players to return to their club's facilities until all are permitted to do so, in an attempt to stop teams from having a competitive advantage.

The Toronto Raptors will allow limited access for their players to the OVO Athletic Centre starting May 11.

Though the order is province-wide, it's also subject to municipal guidelines, which could differ from city to city.