Ontario lifts capacity limits in restaurants, gyms, casinos today
Municipal leaders and business owners welcomed the lifting of capacity limits for facilities requiring proof of COVID-19 immunization on Monday, but said more help is needed to bounce back from the pandemic.
Starting at midnight, restaurants, gyms, casinos and other locations required to ask customers for proof of immunization could open to a full house.
Other spaces not subject to that provincial rule like museums and galleries, places of worship and personal care services were also permitted to fully open, but only if they required proof of vaccination.
Edison Xue, the manager of La Prep restaurant in downtown Toronto, said the province's decision to lift capacity restrictions is good, but won't help his business as long people continue to mostly work from home.
"It's really hard to say (if it's) going to help my business or not because my business really depends on how the pandemic goes," Xue said on Monday.
"It really depends (on) how many people really come back to work, not like once or twice a week."
Mayors of the largest municipalities in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area said they support the province's move to lift capacity limits.
"This is a sign of the progress we have made across the GTHA and the entire province combatting COVID-19 and getting residents vaccinated," the group said in a written statement following a meeting.
They also encouraged people to support local businesses, especially restaurants still struggling from losses they accumulated during the health crisis.
"Many businesses have a COVID hangover from the earlier stages of the pandemic and need our support by shopping, eating and drinking local," the statement said.
Premier Doug Ford announced the changes on Friday as he unveiled plans for managing the pandemic long term.
Those plans include aiming to remove all public health measures meant to slow the spread of COVID-19 by late March, including mask mandates.
Proof-of-vaccination requirements will start to be lifted early next year -- as long as trends don't become concerning -- starting with restaurants, bars, gyms and casinos in January.
Ford describes his approach to loosening restrictions as "super cautious."
Ontario reported 326 new COVID-19 cases on Monday and no new deaths from the virus.
The province said 87 per cent of residents aged 12 and older had at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose and 83 per cent had received both shots.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 25, 2021.
- With files from Maan Alhmidi
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'He didn't want to die': Family of Calgary man killed in standoff speaks out
Family of a Calgary man killed after a 30-hour standoff with police last week are speaking out, sharing details of the tense and heart-wrenching experience.
Toronto family doctor who called patient's body 'perfect' suspended for 3 months: tribunal
A family doctor in Toronto has been suspended for three months after a disciplinary tribunal found that he failed to follow proper protocols while examining a patient's breasts and made inappropriate comments about her body.
Ohio mom who left toddler alone 10 days when she went on vacation pleads guilty to aggravated murder
An Ohio mother whose 16-month-old daughter died after being left home alone in a playpen for 10 days last summer while she went on vacation was sentenced Monday to life in prison with no chance of parole.
Retired teacher pleads guilty to paying for sex with 15-year-old in Collingwood, Ont.
In a Barrie courtroom on Monday, a retired high school teacher from the Niagara Region pleaded guilty to sexual touching and obtaining sexual services from a 15-year-old boy in Collingwood in 2021.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
5 charged in Calgary kidnappings that targeted women
Calgary police have charged five men in a pair of kidnappings last year that targeted innocent victims.
Demand soars for solar eclipse glasses in Canada. Are they worth buying?
The demand for total solar eclipse glasses used to safely view the rare celestial event has been ramping up as sellers, along with astronomy and eye-care experts in Canada, warn that viewing the eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.
Canadian commander of volunteer fighter group dies in Ukraine
A Canadian-born commander of the so-called Norman Brigade, a volunteer fighting group in Ukraine, has died.
Woman, 18, killed by co-worker's vehicle on Highway 1 in Moose Jaw
Moose Jaw police say an 18-year-old woman who was at work has died from injuries she sustained in a collision with a vehicle being driven by her co-worker last Thursday.