Several cafes in Toronto were packed Tuesday morning as Ontario lifted vaccine proof requirements and capacity limits in businesses, along with most other health measures.
Mask-wearing is still mandatory, however, but businesses like movie theaters, restaurants and fitness centers no longer need to check customers’ vaccination status.
Capacity limits still in effect have also been eliminated for places like nightclubs, sports amphitheaters and concert halls. There are also no longer limits on the size of private gatherings, such as weddings.
Restrictions on businesses have been put in place and then removed several times in Ontario since March 2020, according to the vagaries of epidemiological curves. Just recently, in January, the government ordered the complete closure of businesses, to curb the “Omicron wave”.
COVID-19 hospitalizations and test positivity rates have fallen sharply since, though sewage data suggests cases could start to rise again in the province.
Ontario reported 914 COVID-19 hospitalizations on Tuesday, up 65 from the previous day. There were 278 patients in intensive care, one less than Monday. There were also 16 other deaths from the virus.
In addition, 67 of the province’s long-term care homes were reporting an active outbreak, or nearly 11 per cent of homes.
Between ease and concern
The lifting of restrictions in Ontario was received in mixed ways, depending on the feeling of safety and the need to see people. In North Toronto, as friends and colleagues met for a bite to eat on Tuesday, many said they were comfortable with the lifting of restrictions.
Dan Cronin believes it was about time. “If you choose not to get vaccinated, you take your own risks,” said the Torontonian who was vaccinated and also contracted the virus.
But Toronto’s Rachel Rosen, who is immunocompromised, was “terrified” Tuesday morning at the thought of having to go to work. She believes that the deconfinement plan “places the burden of safety and survival” on those who are most vulnerable, all to “appease people who are tired of the pandemic” or who have chosen not to do so. vaccinate.
The Ontario Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday called on the government to use all tools to promote a sustainable and safe reopening, and mitigate future problems with predictability.
Premier Doug Ford recalled that the vaccine evidence system introduced last year was always intended to be time-limited, and that he waited for the go-ahead from the Chief Medical Officer of Health to discard it. He noted Monday, however, that residents should still exercise caution as the pandemic is not over.
A number of businesses and businesses, including restaurants, leisure facilities and museums, have said they will maintain the requirement for vaccine proof for the time being.
All sanitary measures also come to an end in the Legislative Assembly, which means that the deputies will all be able to participate in person, with a mask, in the parliamentary proceedings. The NDP opposition preferred that certain measures in the Legislative Assembly remain in place, because elected officials should lead by example and not pretend that the pandemic is over.