Toronto extends COVID-19 bylaws until the end of September
Torontonians will need to continue wearing masks in businesses until the fall after the city approved an extension of its COVID-19 bylaws today.
The city said the bylaws, which were set to expire today, have been extended until the end of council’s meeting on September 30 and October 1, based on a recommendation by Toronto Medical Officer of Health Dr. Eileen de Villa.
Wednesday’s decision means residents will need to keep physically distancing in city parks or public squares and will be required to continue wearing masks or face coverings in common areas of businesses, apartments and condominiums.
As well, apartment buildings in the city will need to keep non-essential common areas like gyms and pools closed while continuing to offer up hand hygiene stations and public health signage.
Food and drink establishments will also need to keep COVID-19 signage, capacity and table limits in place while also maintaining accurate customer logs.
“We continue to use the data to inform our decisions and today’s step is no different. COVID-19 numbers are decreasing, but it remains a significant concern and we need to continue our efforts to reduce and limit virus spread,” de Villa said in a news release.
According to the city, more than 72.3 per cent of the city’s adult population has received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and more than 10 percent have received both first and second shots.
However, the city said the impact of COVID-19 continues in Toronto with variants of concern increasing both the risk of transmission and serious illness or death.
Also approved Wednesday is a recommendation by de Villa to conduct a monthly assessment on the spread and impacts of COVID-19 should the bylaws need to end, be extended or amended.
The bylaws have now been in effect for more than a year and anyone caught breaking the rules could face a hefty fine upwards of $750.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Former Air Canada employees among suspects identified in gold heist at Pearson Airport: police
Nine people have been arrested in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year, Peel Regional Police said Wednesday.
MPs summon ArriveCan contractor to the House to be admonished in rare parliamentary display
Enacting an extraordinarily rarely used parliamentary power, MPs have summoned an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon to be admonished publicly for failing to answer their questions.
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
Gas prices across Ontario expected to climb to levels not seen since 2022, analyst says
Ontario is going to see a big jump at the pumps later this week as gas prices in the province hit levels not seen in nearly two years, according to one industry analyst.
Ancient skeletons unearthed in France reveal Mafia-style killings
More than 5,500 years ago, two women were tied up and probably buried alive in a ritual sacrifice, using a form of torture associated today with the Italian Mafia, according to an analysis of skeletons discovered at an archaeological site in southwest France.
10 years in U.S. prison for Canadian man who stole millions with fake psychic fraud
A former Montreal resident has been sentenced to 10 years in a United States federal prison for a multi-decade fraud that manipulated more than one million Americans into sending money to fake psychics.
'Enormous sum of money': Actor Hugh Grant settles privacy lawsuit against tabloid
British actor Hugh Grant has settled a lawsuit against the publisher of Rupert Murdoch's tabloid newspaper, The Sun, over claims journalists used private investigators to tap his phone and burgle his house, he said on Wednesday.
O.J. Simpson was chilling with a beer on a couch before Easter, lawyer says. 2 weeks later he was dead
O.J. Simpson's last robust discussion with his longtime lawyer was just before Easter, at the country club home Simpson leased southwest of the Las Vegas Strip. About a week later, on April 5, a doctor said Simpson was 'transitioning.'
Some of the winners and losers in the 2024 federal budget
With a variety of fiscal and policy measures announced in the federal budget, winners include small businesses and fintech companies while losers include the tobacco industry and Canadian pension funds.