Blue Jays fan from Manitoba says he was denied entry at the gate over vaccination documents

TORONTO -

A die-hard Toronto Blue Jays fan from Manitoba was forced to watch a historic game in a hotel room on his phone after he says he was turned away due to insufficient COVID-19 vaccination documents.

Bruce Perry told CTV News Toronto that he flew to Toronto just to watch the Blue Jays series against the Tampa Bay Rays at Rogers Centre on Monday.

He arrived at the stadium during the third inning, ready to show that he was double vaccinated. After presenting his Manitoba drivers licence, photo ID, immunization card and accompanying QR code, he said security at the gate refused his entry.

“I showed all of them and they wouldn’t accept it,” Perry said Tuesday.

Perry says security told him to go to a nearby drug store to get a rapid COVID-19 test.

He said he went to a Shoppers Drug Mart about a kilometre away, but couldn’t get a test on the spot.

“The lady said ‘you can’t get a COVID-19 test, you’ve got to book an appointment.’”

Running out of options, Perry then phoned St. Joseph’s Hospital and was told the same.

Perry told CTV News Toronto that he went back to his hotel and watched the game on his phone.

To add insult to injury, Perry just happened to miss a historic game in which Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit his 45th home run of the season, beating his father’s single-season high when Vlad Sr. was a Montreal Expo.

“Great game, probably the best game that I missed,” Perry said.

Jays’ media relations tell CTV News Toronto that they accept all World Health Organization vaccines with a QR code and that they have been in touch with Perry to find out what went wrong and how they can resolve the incident.

The Toronto Blue Jays have since connected with Perry to ensure "he was taken care of," a spokesperson for the team said while adding that the incident was a "one-time issue."