‘We’re ready to go,’ businesses applaud looser restrictions ahead of long weekend

As some of the most restricted businesses in Ontario welcome the opportunity to once again operate at full capacity, the reaction is more mixed when it comes to the lifting of vaccine certificates.

Capacity limits at indoor settings in Ontario, like gyms and restaurants, will now be lifted at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday.

Premier Doug Ford announced the accelerated reopening and end to vaccine certificate requirements in a news conference on Monday morning, alongside chief medical officer Dr. Kieran Moore.

Both Ford and Moore also pointed to improving COVID indicators and the vaccination rate as the reasoning for speeding up the reopening. They also cited the province’s test positivity rate, which has gone from over 30 per cent to around 12 per cent since the start of January.

Read more:

• Ontario to lift proof of vaccine requirement in March; accelerates reopening

• Ontario to resume non-urgent surgeries, extracurricular activities in schools

“We’re ready to go,” says John Pappas, owner of The Crooked Cue in Mississauga where 20 staff members are being recalled ahead of the upcoming long weekend.

Pappas says he is excited to be able to welcome more customers but thinks it will take some time for business to return to pre-pandemic levels.

“I don’t think the public is quite ready yet to be at full capacity,” he says. “People still do not have a free mind of getting back to normal yet. So that will take some time.”

Maureen O’Neill, owner of The Shore Grill and Grotto in Mississauga, shares in the excitement of reopening ahead of a long weekend.

“It’s a huge importance, especially this long weekend,” O’Neill said. “This long weekend is always the bonus for any business in February because people are still around. It’s not like in the summer where they are all going away.”

Epidemiologist Colin Furness tells CityNews he has serious concerns with the Ford government’s accelerated plan — keeping his eye on the BA.2 subvariant of Omicron that he says has an ability to re-infect and is more transmissible. Furness says it is difficult to measure where the province actually stands due to a lack of PCR testing.

“We’re blind is where we are,” says Furness. “We don’t know how much of that (BA.2) is around because we are not doing testing.”

Infectious diseases specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch cites the vaccination rate and the consistent downward trend of hospitalizations and ICU admissions, saying he believes it is the appropriate time to lift measures.

“It’s okay to start lifting these now,” said Bogoch, speaking to Breakfast Television on Tuesday morning. “The public health measures have to be aligned to the public health threat.”

Ontario lifting proof of vaccination requirement on March 1st

The province’s proof of vaccination requirement will come to an end on March 1, coinciding with the lifting of almost all other public health measures and capacity restrictions.

O’Neill is also applauding the end date for the proof of vaccination requirements saying she is “glad that 91 per cent of the people are vaccinated” but also happy that things “are moving forward.”

Some have expressed concern that the lifting of vaccine passports may keep some people away from gyms and restaurants. Pappas says he isn’t sure what the result of scrapping the vaccine passport will mean for his business.

“I don’t know, I know there is some chatter on Twitter that people might stay away from restaurants if the vaccine passports are lifted,” he said.

Bogoch believes the vaccine certificate system as it currently stands has outlived its usefulness. Two doses still offers the vaccinated individual some protection against the Omicron variant but has not proven to prevent the spread of the virus to others.

As a result, some have questioned if the vaccine certificate should be amended to require three doses instead of two. Bogoch says a three dose system could prove too tricky to implement at this time since so many people have gotten the virus in the recent months but have no way to prove they were ever infected due to the lack of available PCR testing.

“Two doses plus infection is roughly the same as three doses,” Bogoch said. “There have been so many people, 20 to 30 per cent, maybe even more, who will get the Omicron variant over the last couple of months. A significant proportion of the province.”

Bogoch points to the advice from NACI who says Canadians should wait three months after infection until they get a third dose.

“If we listen to NACI, you can’t really start excluding people from these indoor venues until May essentially.”

Businesses and other settings may choose to continue to require proof vaccination if they wish to do so. Vaccination will also remain a requirement in hospitals and long-term care homes.

Masking requirements will remain for the time being but the province says a timeline for the end of masks will be provided soon.

“Our vaccination numbers speak for themselves,” Moore said during the Monday’s news conference. “As a result we no long need the proof of vaccination. In our estimation, given where we are in the epidemic, as of March 1st it will no longer be necessary.”

NDP opposition leader Andrea Horwath is accusing the premier of placating to anti-mandate protesters and says that proof of vaccination requirements still serve a purpose.

“We want Ontario to be fully open when it’s safe, and to stay that way, including restaurants and gyms, and especially schools,” said Horwath in a statement. “Vaccine certificates are helping keep everything open and protecting us all.”

With files from CityNews reporters Shauna Hunt and Cynthia Mulligan