Indoor capacity limits will be increased on Feb. 17, and proof of vaccination requirements will be lifted on March 1
Ontario will be moving into the next phase of its COVID-19 reopening plan this upcoming Thursday, four days ahead of the originally scheduled date of Feb. 21.
The province also aims to lift its proof of vaccination requirements by Mar. 1.
Premier Doug Ford announced the changes at an impromptu news conference on Monday morning, citing Ontario’s declining case numbers and hospitalizations as the reason for the early reopening.
“Given how well Ontario has done in the Omicron wave, we are able to fast track our reopening plan,” said Ford in his statement. “This is great news and a sign of just how far we’ve come together in our fight against the virus.”
Although Ford said that we “aren’t out of the woods just yet,” his team believes that it is safe to begin transitioning out of the strict public health measures that Ontarians have been dealing with since the emergence of the Omicron variant in late 2021.
On Feb. 17, social gathering limits will be raised to 50 people indoors and 100 people outdoors.
Moreover, capacity limits will be removed in select indoor public spaces where proof of vaccination is required for entry. This will include restaurants, meeting spaces, gyms, religious facilities, and gaming establishments such as casinos and bingo halls.
Essential services like grocery stores, pharmacies, and retail stores will be allowed to permit entry to as many people as they would like, so long as those people can all fit inside the space while maintaining two metres of physical distance from one another.
However, settings that the government deems to be high-risk will continue to be subject to capacity limits. Nightclubs, bars with dancing, and bathhouses will be capped at 25 percent capacity indoors. Sport and concert venues, as well as movie theatres, will also continue operating at 50 percent seating capacity.
If all goes well, the province plans to then lift all proof of vaccination requirements on March 1. This will coincide with the total removal of capacity limits on all indoor establishments.
However, Ford emphasized that this will only happen if public health system indicators continue to show improvement.
Mask mandates will stay in place for now, and Ford clarified that businesses may continue to require proof of vaccination if they so choose.
The premier also announced that Canadians between the ages of 12 and 17 will become eligible to receive their third dose of the vaccine this week. In order to continue combating the spread of COVID-19 and make reopening possible, vaccination registration portals are set to open up to Canadian youth at 8 a.m on Friday morning.
For more information on Ontario’s Roadmap to Reopening, visit the COVID-19 public health measures and advice webpage.
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