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
Air quality alerts issued as wildfire smoke spreads east from Western Canada
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
Steal a car, lose your driver's licence under new Ontario proposal
Repeat car thieves may face lengthy licence bans under proposed changes to Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act.
Ellen DeGeneres addresses the 'hurtful' end of her talk show in new stand-up set
Ellen DeGeneres is reflecting on how her talk show came to an end in her newest Netflix special, 'Ellen's Last Stand ... Up Tour.'
When you have a moment's notice to evacuate, what do you take?
Knowing what to have at home, or take with you for an evacuation, can be useful and even life-saving.
LIVE UPDATES Michael Cohen will face a bruising cross-examination by Trump's lawyers at the hush money trial
Donald Trump’s fixer-turned-foe returns to the witness stand Tuesday for a bruising round of questioning from the former president’s lawyers.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Regulated area for invasive box tree moth expanded to parts of the Maritimes
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has added much of the Maritimes to a regulated area for an invasive species.
Risks of handcuffing someone facedown long known; people die when police training fails to keep up
For decades, police across the United States have been warned that the common tactic of handcuffing someone facedown could turn deadly if officers pin them on the ground with too much pressure or for too long.
A healthy lifestyle can mitigate genetic risk for early death by 62%, study suggests
Even if your genetics put you at greater risk for early death, a healthy lifestyle could help you significantly combat it, according to a new study.