TORONTO -- The City of Toronto has suspended all of its indoor recreational programming due to the resurgence of COVID-19.
In a news release issued on Friday morning, the city said that it will be putting all “registered and instructional programs” on hold until further notice and will stop issuing indoor permits for social gatherings, sports games and group fitness activities.
It also said that hockey games and scrimmages at city facilities will be suspended, as will all drop-in sports programs other than leisure and lane swims and leisure skates.
Furthermore the city has announced that both the Allan Gardens Conservatory and Centennial Park Conservatory will be closed to the public as of Tuesday. Those facilities were closed in March to help limit the spread of COVID-19 but reopened in July.
“Right now, we all need to do our part to fight a surge of new COVID-19 cases in our city. Physical activity is a cornerstone of good health and we’ve seen first-hand how important it is for people to have access to recreation, but our rising case counts make indoor group activities unsafe at this time,” Board of Health Chair Joe Cressy said in the release.
“While I know this is disappointing news for many families, it’s important that we continue to find ways to exercise and explore our city, through alternatives outdoors where people can safely maintain physical distancing.”
The city cancelled both its spring and summer recreational programs due to the pandemic but the offerings were supposed to resume this fall, with lower class sizes and other precautions.
That, however, was before Toronto started reporting more than 200 new cases of COVID-19 each day.
In the release, the city noted that the programs that have been suspended were “deemed high risk for transmission” due to the fact that they are indoors and involve physical activity that often leads to close contact.
It should be noted that a number of indoor recreational programs will continue in city facilities for now, including drop-in youth programs that do not include sports, permits for indoor athletic training, December camps for children, after-school recreation care and leisure swims and skates.
“I know that the suspension of these indoor recreation programs will be frustrating for those who were looking forward to these activities,” Mayor John Tory added in the release. “I have asked city staff to work towards developing supplementary outdoor activities that people can take part in safely this fall and winter.”
The city says that there were approximately 20,000 registrants for the affected programs and that those individuals will be automatically refunded in the coming weeks.
