With Ontario reporting 3,124 new cases on Friday (December 17), the provincial government has announced additional public health restrictions designed to reduce the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant.
The new restrictions, which take effect at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday (December 19), include a 50 per cent capacity limit in most indoor public settings, a limit of 10 people per table at restaurants, and a limit of 10 people at indoor social gatherings and 25 people at outdoor social gatherings.
“Sitting back playing defence is not an option,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in a media conference at Queen’s Park in Toronto late Friday afternoon. “We need to meet this variant head on. We need to do everything we can to push it back. Over the coming days and weeks, daily COVID cases will continue to accelerate with omicron being the most transmissible variant we’ve seen yet.”
“But while our intensive care units remain stable, we expect the number of admissions to grow as more people catch COVID, particularly the unvaccinated,” Ford said. “The experts have been very clear: nothing will stop the spread of omicron — it’s just too transmissible.”
“What we can do, and what we’re doing, is slowing it as much as possible to allow more time for shots to get into arms. In order to give our vaccine blitz the time it needs, in order to protect our hospitals from being overwhelmed, we need to implement further public health measures.”
“The decision to limit people’s ability to gather, especially during holidays, is an extremely, extremely difficult one to make,” Ford added. “And I know these measures will have an impact on businesses during the important season. That’s why Ontario joins Quebec’s call for the federal government to expand supports for businesses and workers, and we’re prepared to do our part as well.”
Addressing parents, Ford said no decision has been made on whether to close schools in the new year.
“We’re simply not in the position to say,” he said. “The situation is evolving too quickly to know where we’ll be in early January,” adding the goal is to do “whatever is necessary” to protect students and staff.
The new 50 per cent capacity limit — which is in addition to the previously announced 50 per cent capacity limit on indoor areas of venues with a usual capacity of 1,000 or more — applies to the following indoor public settings:
- Restaurants, bars and other food or drink establishments and strip clubs.
- Personal care services.
- Personal physical fitness trainers.
- Retailers, including grocery stores and pharmacies.
- Shopping malls.
- Non-spectator areas of facilities used for sports and recreational fitness activities (e.g. gyms).
- Indoor recreational amenities.
- Indoor clubhouses at outdoor recreational amenities.
- Tour and guide services.
- Photography studios and services
- Marinas and boating clubs.
The capacity limit does not apply to any portion of a business or place that is being used for a wedding, a funeral or a religious service, rite, or ceremony.
Businesses or facilities will also need to post a sign stating the capacity limits permitted in the establishment.
In addition to the 50 per cent capacity limit, the government is also applying the following additional public health restrictions:
- The number of patrons permitted to sit at a table will be limited to 10 people and patrons will be required to remain seated in restaurants, bars and other food or drink establishments, meeting and event spaces and strip clubs.
- Bars and restaurants, meeting and event spaces and strip clubs will be required to close by 11 p.m. Take out and delivery will be permitted beyond 11 p.m.
- Dancing will not be allowed except for workers or performers.
- Food and/or drink services will be prohibited at sporting events, concert venues, theatres and cinemas, casinos, bingo halls and other gaming establishments, and horse racing tracks, car racing tracks and other similar venues.
- The sale of alcohol will be restricted after 10 p.m. and consumption of alcohol in businesses or settings after 11 p.m.
To mitigate COVID-19 transmission that can occur at informal social gatherings, the government is also reducing social gathering limits to 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors.
For health care workers, the personal protective equipment requirements outlined in Directive 5 have been updated with interim guidance to require N95s for health care workers providing direct care to (or interacting with) a suspected, probable, or confirmed case of COVID-19.
