Time will tell if the legislated proof of vaccination requirement of restaurant patrons will make a noticeable difference in reducing the impact of COVID-19 but, short term, it has seen varying actions taken by eatery owners and operators.

As of Wednesday (September 22), those seeking access to a long list of premises, including restaurants, must show proof of having been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as well as proof of identification showing their name and date of birth.

Failure to comply with the requirement can result in charges under the Reopening Ontario Act with a set fine amount of $750 for individuals and $1,000 for corporations. Maximum penalties based on a prosecution include fines of up to $100,000 and up to a year in jail for an individual, up to $500,000 and up to a year in jail for an individual who is a director or officer of a corporation, and up to $10 million for a corporation.

Based on a flurry of social media posts, the proof of vaccination requirement is causing the most consternation in the restaurant sector, with owners having to make a difficult choice based on what’s right for their business.

Does a restaurant carry on as per normal, turning no one away at the risk of being fined or charged, or comply with the requirement at the risk of losing those customers who aren’t fully vaccinated?

Jodi Hogarth, the owner of Honky Tonk Restaurant on Ward Street in Bridgenorth, is complying with the requirement — but not without a fair number of concerns.

“The first day, we had to turn four or five people away that didn’t have their vaccine slips with them,” she says.

“A couple of them we knew were vaccinated because they’ve been in before and we discussed it, but we didn’t visually see it so we told them to bring it next time. They might not come back because we wouldn’t let them in despite knowing they’re vaccinated, but we have to follow the rules.”

Noting all her staff — most have been with her several years — are fully vaccinated, Hogarth says one customer asked to see proof of vaccination from one of her staff.

“I have no problem with that, even though it’s not the law,” she adds.

Asking patrons for proof of vaccination, says Hogarth, is “nerve wracking.”

“The girls don’t want to do it. Yesterday (Wednesday}, I had to deal with a customer who just walked in and sat down. When he was asked for his vaccine slip, he said ‘Don’t be silly, just serve me.’ And he’s a regular. Probably 90 per cent of my business is repeat customers.”

Going takeout only wasn’t an option, says Hogarth, as most of their menu is of the breakfast variety.

“Who wants to take out over easy eggs? By the time you get to the parking lot, they’re cold.”

Even during the lockdowns, she says it was cheaper to close and pay her rent from savings than go the takeout route, adding “My hydro bill is about $1,500 a month, but when I shut down it was $150.”

Asked for her thoughts on restaurant owners who aren’t asking for proof of full vaccination from their customers, Hogarth says that wasn’t a consideration in her mind.

“I can lose regular customers and end up belly up or I can not comply and be fined through the ass and end up belly up, so I might as well give it a good shot. There’s a big sign on the door that says you must provide proof. If you walk in past that sign (without providing of vaccination), you’re the problem, not me.”

“So far, 99.9 per cent of people have been awesome and totally in compliance. They support us. We had a full restaurant this morning (Thursday). We had to ask one person to leave and everyone there supported us in that.”

Meanwhile, at Apollo Grill’s two Peterborough locations — one in Mapleridge Plaza on Lansdowne Street West and the other in the Towerhill Plaza — co-owner Kerry Ladoucier-Rennick has taken a different approach, by completing closing indoor dining and going the takeout and delivery route only.

“I don’t have a bouncer at the door — my girl is behind plexiglass at the counter,” she says, adding “I’m not hiring somebody to do that (check for vaccine confirmation at the door).”

“We didn’t receive emails or instructions from the government or our local health unit giving us the tools and the education and the training for us to implement this. My girls wouldn’t know, if they looked at somebody’s certificate, if it’s theirs or if it’s fake. What are they looking for?”

According to Ladoucier-Rennick, closing indoor dining means the restaurant can avoid upsetting customers on both sides of the vaccine passport debate.

“We thought, if we ask people for it (vaccination proof), those we turn away are going to be upset and a lot of them would be regulars. If we don’t ask, the people who are double vaccinated and feel everyone should be, are going to be very upset.”

“When customers are upset they post one-star reviews, which hurts business. They call the health unit, which ties up health inspectors coming out to handle silly little complaints.”

Ladoucier-Rennick admits defying the legislation and allowing all through the doors, vaccinated or not, “was a thought” but quickly adds “You’re screwed either way. People are going to say ‘Why didn’t you ask me (for proof of vaccination)? Are you telling me all these people aren’t vaccinated? I don’t want to sit here then.”

She notes most of the comments on Apollo Grill’s Facebook page have been positive.

“They’re saying ‘Good for you … you’re not playing this game. You’re not discriminating’ There are some who are twisting things and trying so hard to make this into us being anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers. Vaccines are a very different issue from the vaccine passports.”

One restaurant south of Peterborough that is outright defying the proof of vaccination requirement is Local No 90 Bar and Kitchen in Port Hope, with owner Dana Hubbard pledging via Facebook to “operate as normal.”

“I cannot in good conscious participate in creating segregation amongst a community who has shown my business support and love throughout the years,” reads her Facebook post, which has seen more than 1,000 comments since she posted it on Wednesday.

That action is in stark contrast to the owners’ approach at two Peterborough restaurants: Imperial Tandor on Lansdowne Street West and Ashburnham Ale House on Hunter Street East.

“For the safety of our guests as well as our staff, it’s important for us to introduce policies for the benefit of everybody,” says Imperial Tandor co-owner Jim Grover. “We are taking this very seriously. We have a very strict policy that our staff is double vaccinated or provide us proof of a negative COVID test.”

Although it’s only been two days since the proof of vaccine requirement came into effect, Grover says no problems with customers have been encountered.

“Our patrons have been very cooperative,” he says.

Grover adds the risk of losing customers because of the proof of vaccine requirement pales in comparison to be being compliant with provincial legislation and keeping all who enter his restaurant’s doors safe.

“Sometimes you have to make those hard decisions, right?”

Meanwhile, Ashburnham Ale House owner Scott Wood admits “It’s a pain” but says it’s the right thing to do as a responsible owner.

“We are on the front lines. The direction we’ve given our staff is to go through with compliance and do your best to be expedient and step people through the process. In the event someone gives you a hard time and get confrontational, we’ll call public health and the police if necessary. What else can we do?”

“It’s been going really well so far,” he adds. “It’s a lot of work, but 99 per cent of those coming through the door are aware they need proof of vaccination. They’re ready to display that and they’re fine with it — they really are.”

Wood says, despite the differing opinions on the requirement and the debate that’s stirring up, there remains a bigger issue at play.

“I just wish more Canadians would go and get vaccinated so we wouldn’t need a vaccine passport,” he explains. “Freedom of choice, sure … but in order to get on with this and get to not having to have a vaccine passport, the answer is getting vaccinated. It’s a simple as that. Without doing that, I don’t see a way forward.”

Ontario is increasing the capacity limits in certain indoor and outdoor settings where proof of vaccination is required, effective 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, September 25th.

The new capacity limits will mainly affect larger venues, as maximum percentage capacity limits still apply but the maximum number of people allowed has increased.

“Increasing capacity limits does not mean we can let our guard down,” said Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, during an announcement of the increased capacity limits on Friday afternoon (September 24). “We must remain cautious and humble in the face of this delta variant.”

For indoor venues (including conference and convention centres, banquet halls, sporting event venues, performance venues, racing venues, and commercial and film television productions with studio audiences), the maximum capacity is now 50 per cent or 10,000 people, whichever is less. This is an increase from the previous maximum of 1,000 people.

This means 2,000 fully vaccinated fans can attend Peterborough Petes games at the Peterborough Memorial Centre.

For outdoor event venues where patrons stand (including conference and convention centres, nightclubs, sports and recreational fitness facilities, concert venues, theatres, cinemas, museums, galleries, zoos, historic sites, and racing venues) the maximum capacity is now 75 per cent or 15,000 people, whichever is less. This is an increase from the previous maximum of 5,000 people.

For outdoor event venues where patrons sit (including sports and recreational fitness facilities, concert venues, theatres, cinemas, museums, galleries, zoos, historic sites, and racing venues), capacity limits will be increased to up to 75 per cent capacity or 30,000 people, whichever is less. This is an increase from the previous maximum of 15,000 people.

This means up to 30,000 fully vaccinated fans will now be allowed to attend games at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, which the government has classified as an outdoor venue — even when the dome is closed — after reviewing its ventilation system.

“We’ve worked them to understand the ventilation and the air exchange and we’re confident we can keep the roof closed, and continue to consider it an outdoor space,” Dr. Moore said.

Following the government’s announcement, the Toronto Blue Jays announced the 500L section at the Rogers Centre would be reopening.

Let’s get Toronto loud to help the Blue Jays punch that postseason ticket!

Tickets available now: https://t.co/M7PlRcHWYx pic.twitter.com/4sRyWrkX5k

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) September 24, 2021

At Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, almost 10,000 fully vaccinated fans will be able to attend games, instead of the previous 1,000. The Toronto Maple Leafs start their pre-season against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.

The government also announced proof of vaccination will now be required in outdoor settings where the normal maximum capacity is 20,000 people or more.

On a very rainy day in June 2002, 48 teams participated in the inaugural Peterborough’s Dragon Boat Festival, raising $84,509.18 that would ultimately help the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) acquire an ultrasound machine and other equipment for the hospital’s breast assessment centre.

So it’s only fitting that, on a very rainy day 20 years after Survivors Abreast first conceived of the annual festival, volunteers from Survivors Abreast and the festival’s organizing committee presented the PRHC Foundation with a donation of $91,853.20 to help the hospital acquire a new state-of-the-art diagnostic ultrasound machine for the breast assessment centre.

“We realized that we have come full circle and to celebrate our 20th anniversary, we decided our goal would be to match the $84,509.18 donation we made to the PRHC Foundation 20 years ago when we were first starting out,” said 2021 festival chair Gina Lee during a cheque presentation held Thursday (September 23) in Peterborough Square.

The festival exceeded that fundraising goal, despite this being the second straight year the festival, which normally takes place at Del Crary Park every June, has been cancelled because of the pandemic. Instead, the festival held a virtual race that consisted of activities participants could do safely at home. This year’s fundraising total also exceeds the $55,449.41 raised in 2020, the first year a virtual race was held due to the pandemic.

“The pandemic has forced us to start over and rebuild the event,’ Lee said.

VIDEO: Peterborough’s Dragon Boat Festival celebrating 20 years of making a difference

Since the festival was first launched in June 2001 as Liberty Mutual’s “Day on the Water” — becoming Peterborough’s Dragon Boat Festival the following year, with Kawartha Credit Union the lead sponsor for the event (which it has remained for the entire history of the festival) — it has raised more than $3.7 million for breast cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment in the Peterborough region.

“The hospital’s mission to provide world-class cancer care, close to home, remains as important as ever,” said Lesley Heighway, president and CEO of the PRHC Foundation. “Proceeds from this year’s festival will be used to help fund an advanced new diagnostic ultrasound for PRHC’s Breast Assessment Centre.”

“This state-of-the-art equipment will provide better quality images so radiologists can detect smaller, difficult-to-see breast abnormalities quickly and accurately,” she added. “This will help save lives.”

In recognition of the 20th anniversary of Peterborough’s Dragon Boat Festival, the SPARK Photo Festival is featuring the festival as its showcase exhibit. The exhibit, called “20 Years of Peterborough’s Dragon Boat Festival”, is on display in the lower level of Peterborough Square (340 George St. N.) during regular mall hours throughout the month of September.

The festival’s organizing committee is hoping next year’s festival, to be held on June 11, 2022, will return to Little Lake at Del Crary Park. Michelle Thornton is assuming the role of 2022 festival chair, and those interested in volunteering for next year’s festival can email Thornton at mimthornton@nexicom.net.

For more information about the festival, visit www.ptbodragonboat.ca.

With business owners’ declarations of compliance — or defiance — of Ontario’s newly mandated vaccine passport requirement competing for equal time on social media channels, Peterborough Public Health says the health unit’s initial focus is on education as opposed to outright enforcement.

Still, during a media briefing held Thursday (September 23), environmental health manager Julie Ingram made it clear business owners and venue operators who “obviously are not going to comply and are choosing to defy provincial legislation” will face appropriate enforcement action, which could include charges.

Under the Reopening Ontario Act, businesses and organizations that are required to verify the vaccination status of customers and patrons before allowing admittance but do not comply face a $1,000 fine, with the maximum penalty following prosecution climbing as high as $100,000 with a one-year jail sentence.

“The new requirements for proof of vaccine are an added layer to our overarching protection of our communities,” added Ingram. “Potentially, the business just hasn’t got on board with the public health measure of proof of vaccine. Maybe they’re working on implementing it. If that can be brought to our attention, we can follow up.”

“This is new — we are empathetic of businesses that are working to implement this change to their operations,” she said. “Peterborough Public Health is taking a progressive enforcement approach. We’re working on educating, especially for those businesses that are trying to do the right thing.”

Staff Sergeant Dan MacLean, who also attended the briefing, said the Peterborough Police Service “hasn’t been bombarded with complaints,” while acknowledging that it’s still early since the new proof of vaccination requirement just came into effect yesterday (September 22).

As for anyone who presents a false vaccine certificate, MacLean says the most likely charge he or she could face is obstruction.

Meanwhile, for those concerned they weren’t asked for proof of vaccination upon entering a business or venue required to ask for it, Ingram said they should keep something front of mind.

“All of the other public health measures that existed prior to requiring proof of vaccine continue to exist,” she explained. “If you’re not asked for proof of vaccine, that doesn’t mean the business isn’t safe. There’s a good chance they’re still compliant with all of the other public health measures.”

Ingram added those concerned about a business not requesting proof of vaccination can contact Peterborough Public Health and the health unit will follow up with the owner.

With the proof of vaccination requirement now in place, and with a QR code-based system to be rolled out by October 22, the local COVID-19 numbers are showing signs of levelling off.

As of late Wednesday afternoon (September 22), the number of active cases in Peterborough city and county, Hiawatha, and Curve Lake stood at 25, with 10 new cases reported this week to date. There has been a steady decline in new weekly cases since the week of September 6, when 49 new cases were reported.

While there are no outbreaks in the region, Peterborough Public Health is reporting one new COVID-related death — the region’s 23rd — involving an unvaccinated and hospitalized middle-aged woman who died September 10.

“While case numbers are lower than a couple of weeks ago, the number of associated high-risk contacts (319) being monitored remains quite high,” said Donna Churipuy, public health director and incident commander, adding “This reflects the increased level of socialization that we are seeing in classrooms and workplaces and other settings.”

On the vaccination front, the numbers continue to climb slowly but surely. To date, 110,745 residents have received one dose while 103,214 residents are fully vaccinated with two doses. Percentage-wise, 84.3 per cent of those aged 12 and up who are vaccine-eligible have received their first dose while 78.7 per cent have received two doses.

Churipuy is particularly pleased to see a four per cent jump over the last two weeks in the number of youths aged 12 to 17 who are now fully vaccinated, which now stands at 69.7 per cent.

A good portion of the media briefing was devoted to comments from local education leaders providing updates on COVID-19 related measures and their effectiveness, including Trent University president Dr. Leo Groarke, Fleming College student experience vice-president Sandra Dupret, Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board chair Diane Lloyd, Conseil scolaire catholique Mon Avenir superintendent Gina Kozak, and Peterborough, Victoria, Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board education director Joan Carragher.

At Trent University, 94 per cent of employees and 88 per cent of students are fully vaccinated, with Groarke predicting “Within a week or two, we will have 95 per cent of the campus fully vaccinated.”

“Some cases will occur and when they do, through our partnership with Peterborough Public Health, we will respond quickly.” Groarke added.

As for Fleming College, Dupret said 40 per cent of programs are being delivered on campus with about 4,800 vaccination passports having been issued to employees, students, and vendors, including a sizable number of students who are learning online only.

Unique to both post-secondary institutions is the added challenge presented by student residence settings.

“In some ways, having students in residence is easier to control,” Groarke said. “Residences are very controlled places. That gives us the opportunity to educate people and to watch what’s going on. We have a whole lot of measures beyond our vaccination requirement that apply to students in residence.”

“Our scientists are doing waste water testing at each of our residences,” he added. “That gives us another way to watch what’s going on.”

Also in attendance for Thursday’s media briefing and speaking — as he has been for each briefing since the pandemic began — was board of health chair and Selwyn mayor Andy Mitchell.

The world-wide community fridge movement has come to downtown Nogojiwanong-Peterborough, with a group of volunteers concerned about food insecurity creating a community fridge for people in need.

A community fridge is a refrigerator installed at a public location where people can drop off fresh fruits and vegetables, unexpired non-perishables, menstruation products, pet food, and personal protective equipment. Restaurants can also drop off pre-made meals that list all the ingredients contained inside.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has increased health and income disparities and a community fridge helps create a space for local citizens to support each other,” reads a media release from the volunteers behind the community fridge, who call themselves Community Fridge Ptbo. “The group encourages engaged citizens to buy some extra groceries for the fridge when doing their regular shopping.”

The community fridge (which also includes a pantry for items that do not need to be refrigerated) is located at 225 Dublin Street, in front of a private residence at the corner of Dublin and Aylmer.

After Community Fridge Ptbo were unable to find a local business or organization to host it, one of the core volunteers in the group agreed to host the fridge on the front lawn of their house.

“The project has only brought smiles to peoples faces,” the volunteer says. “Lots of people from the neighbourhood have already been filling up the pantry and fridge space — and in the past few weeks the only advertising for the fridge is the pantry itself.”

The first community fridges were installed in Germany in 2012 and they have since become increasingly common, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Community fridges have been set up in Spain, the UK, the Netherlands, New Zealand, India, Israel, as well as in cities across the U.S. and Canada — including in Calgary, Kitchener, Hamilton, and Toronto (which has at least seven fridges), and now Peterborough.

The community fridge movement abides by the ethos “leave what you can, take what you need.” People are encouraged to drop off food and other items when they can, and that there is no policing of who takes items or how much they take.

The objective of community fridges is to reduce food insecurity and mitigate food waste while giving people in need easy access to fresh and nutritious food. Since people can both add and remove items, a community fridge helps to remove the stigma from its use.

Community Fridge Ptbo is looking for local citizens and businesses to support the project by dropping off fresh food and dried goods, as well as additional volunteers to help stock and clean the fridge on a regular basis.

For more information, including how to volunteer and a list of requested items, visit Community Fridge Ptbo on Linktree at linktr.ee/communityfridge.ptbo.

You can also follow Community Fridge Ptbo on Instagram @communityfridge.ptbo.