Capacity limits for restaurants, gyms to lift Monday as part of 6-month reopening plan

By the end of March, all pandemic restrictions in Ontario could be a thing of the past, ushering the province back to a pre-COVID-19 era.

The province announced on Friday that barring any major setbacks, it intends to lift all public health and workplace safety measures by March 28, 2022.

But the full reopening will be gradual and come in several stages, starting on Monday at 12:01 a.m. when capacity limits in the “vast majority” or settings where proof of vaccination are required will be lifted. That includes restaurants and bars, indoor sports and recreation facilities, gyms, casinos, bingo halls and gaming establishments.

“Thanks to our cautious and careful approach to re-opening, we are now in position to gradually lift all remaining public health measures over the coming months,” said Premier Doug Ford.

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“This plan is built for the long term. It will guide us safely through the winter and out of this pandemic, while avoiding lockdowns and ensuring we don’t lose the hard-fought gains we have made.”

Despite his optimism, Ford said the province wouldn’t hesitate to halt the reopening plans if COVID-19 cases spiked again.

“I’m going to be super cautious,” he stressed. “If we do not see numbers in a stable place, we just aren’t going to do it, it’s as simple as that.”

The province says it will keep a close eye on key public health indicators and emerging COVID variants, but unless things take a noted turn for the worse, Ontario will “slowly and incrementally lift all remaining public health and workplace safety measures, including the provincial requirement for proof of vaccination and wearing of face coverings in indoor public settings, over the next six months.”

“Our plan will ensure we replicate this success and take a gradual approach that will protect our health system capacity, prevent widespread closures, keep our schools open and support the province’s economic recovery,” said Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health.

James Rilett is a vice president with Restaurants Canada and says the industry will still need help from Queen’s Park going forward. He says vaccine certificates caused a drop in business for 60 per cent of restaurants while stadiums got a head start to return to full capacity.

“When bars are sitting there with people spaced out at half capacity with the game on, while people are shoulder to shoulder to screaming yelling, it’s been hard to take,” Rilett said.

He says Ontario restaurants have already lost half of their annual $18 billion in revenue.

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The province says its plan will unfold as follows: (source: Province of Ontario)

In the absence of concerning trends, public health and workplace safety measures will be lifted based on the proposed following milestones:

October 25, 2021

Effective October 25, 2021 at 12:01 a.m., Ontario will lift capacity limits in the vast majority of settings where proof of vaccination are required, such as restaurants, bars and other food or drink establishments; indoor areas of sports and recreational facilities such as gyms and where personal physical fitness trainers provide instruction; casinos, bingo halls and other gaming establishments; and indoor meeting and event spaces. Limits will also be lifted in certain outdoor settings.

November 15, 2021

The government intends to lift capacity limits in the remaining higher-risk settings where proof of vaccination is required, including food or drink establishments with dance facilities (e.g., night clubs, wedding receptions in meeting/event spaces where there is dancing); strip clubs, bathhouses and sex clubs.

January 17, 2022

In the absence of concerning trends in public health and health care following the winter holiday months and after students returned to in-class learning, the province intends to begin gradually lifting capacity limits in settings where proof of vaccination is not required. The Chief Medical Officer of Health will also lift CMOH directives as appropriate.

February 7, 2022

The government intends to lift proof of vaccination requirements in high-risk settings, including night clubs, strip clubs, and bathhouses and sex clubs.

March 28, 2022

At this time, it is intended that remaining public health and workplace safety measures will be lifted, including wearing face coverings in indoor public settings. Recommendations may be released for specific settings, if appropriate.

Proof of vaccination requirements may also begin to be gradually lifted at this time, including for restaurants, bars and other food and drink establishments, facilities used for sports and recreational facilities and casinos, bingo halls and other gaming establishments.

With files from CityNews reporter Mark Douglas