Full list of restrictions lifting in Ontario today

At 12:01 a.m. on Monday, Ontario will enter the first step of its three-step reopening plan, meaning that a number of restrictions imposed earlier this month in an attempt to curb transmission of the Omicron variant will lift.

As of Jan. 31, social gathering limits will increase to 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors.

Indoor dining, gyms, retailers, shopping malls, and cinemas can reopen at 50 per cent capacity. Museums, galleries, aquariums, zoos, casinos, bingo halls and other gaming establishments can also reopen.

The government will also allow spectators at sporting events, concert venues and theatres at 50 per cent seated capacity or 500 people, whichever is less.

Premier Doug Ford said during a Jan. 20 news conference that the province’s approach to winding back on restrictions, which initially took effect on Jan. 5, will be “cautious and gradual.”

"We want to do everything humanly possible to avoid having to go backwards," Ford said.

"If that means pausing between steps for a few extra days, we won't hesitate to do so."

The restrictions lifting in Ontario on Monday are as follows:

• Social gatherings will be increased to 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors.
• Sporting events, concert venues and theatres will be able to operate at 50 per cent seated capacity or 500 people, whichever is less.
• Restaurants, bars and other food or drink establishments without dance facilities will be able to operate with 50 per cent capacity indoors.
• Retailers, including grocery stores and pharmacies, as well as shopping malls, can operate with 50 per cent capacity indoors.
• Non-spectator areas of sports and recreational fitness facilities, including gyms, can operate with 50 per cent capacity indoors.
• Movie theatres, meeting rooms and event spaces can operate with 50 per cent capacity indoors.
• Recreational amenities and amusement parks, including water parks, can operate with 50 per cent capacity indoors.
• Museums, galleries, aquariums, zoos and similar attractions, as well as casinos, bingo halls and other gaming establishments can open at 50 per cent capacity indoors.
• Indoor religious services, rites, or ceremonies can take place at 50 per cent capacity.
• The province said enhanced proof of vaccination, and other requirements would continue to apply in existing settings.

The government also specified that individuals attending indoor events at a sporting or concert venue, a movie theatre, or other gaming establishments will be allowed to eat and drink, as long as they remain seated.

The legal requirement to work from home except where necessary has also been lifted by the province, although Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Kieren Moore, recommends that those who are able to work from home continue to do so.

Moore reiterated this fact at a news conference earlier this month, saying that individual case management is no longer beneficial based on the vast community spread of Omicron.

"You have to take personal responsibility based on symptoms, knowing when to access health-care systems and (rapid antigen tests)," Moore said.

“We have to learn as a society to live with this virus, live with the risk.”

Ontario reported 58 more deaths due to COVID-19 Sunday, as hospitalizations dropped significantly to just over 3,100 patients.

The province will enter Step 2 of its reopening plan on Feb. 21, in which legal indoor and outdoor gathering limits are set to increase and indoor capacity restrictions are set to be scrapped where proof of vaccination is required.

With files from Miriam Katawazi and Katherine DeClerq.