Key considerations include:
Organized public events, social gatherings and wedding, funeral and religious services, rites and ceremonies
- Limits for all organized public events and social gatherings:
- 5 people indoors
- 25 people outdoors
- Limits for religious services rites or ceremonies, including wedding services and funeral services, where physical distancing can be maintained (applies in any venue other than a private dwelling):
- 30% capacity of the room indoors
- 100 people outdoors
Restaurants, bars and other food and drink establishments
- Capacity limits, where physical distancing can be maintained:
- 10 patrons seated indoors
- Outdoor dining, take out, drive through, and delivery permitted, including alcohol
- No buffet style service
- Line-ups and patrons congregating outside venues managed by venue; 2 metres distance and face covering required
- Screening of patrons is required, in accordance with instructions issued by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health
- Require patrons to be seated; 2 metres minimum or impermeable barrier required between tables
- Limit of 4 people may be seated together
- Require contact information for all seated patrons
- Face coverings required except when eating or drinking only
- Personal protective equipment, including eye protection required when is a worker must come within 2 metres of another person who is not wearing a face covering
- Establishments must be closed from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.
- Liquor sold or served only between 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- No consumption of liquor permitted between 10 p.m. to 9 a.m.
- Dancing, singing and the live performance of music is prohibited
- Limit volume of music to be low enough that a normal conversation is possible
- Night clubs and strip clubs only permitted to operate as restaurant or bar
- A safety plan is required to be prepared and made available upon request
Sports and recreational fitness facilities
- Maintain 2 metres physical distancing at all times
- Increase spacing between patrons to 3 metres in areas where there are weights or exercise equipment and in exercise and fitness classes
- Capacity limits, where physical distancing can be maintained
- 10 people in indoor areas with weights and exercise machines
- 10 people in all indoor classes or
- 25 people in outdoor classes
- No spectators permitted, however each person under 18 may be accompanied by one parent or guardian
- Team sports must not be practiced or played except for training (no games or scrimmage)
- Activities that are likely to result in individuals coming within 2 metres of each other are not permitted; no contact permitted for team or individual sports
- Exemptions for high performance athletes and parasport
- Patrons may only be in the facility for 90 minutes except if engaging in a sport
- Limit volume of music to be low enough that a normal conversation is possible; measures to prevent shouting by both instructors and members of the public
- Face coverings required except when exercising
- Require contact information for all members of the public that enter the facility
- Require reservation for entry; one reservation for teams
- Screening of patrons is required, in accordance with instructions issued by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health
- A safety plan is required to be prepared and made available upon request
Meeting and event spaces
- Capacity limit for the venue, where physical distancing can be maintained:
- 10 people indoors or
- 25 people outdoors
- Establishments must be closed from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.
- Liquor sold or served only between 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- No consumption of liquor permitted between 10 p.m. to 9 a.m.
- Face coverings required except when eating or drinking only
- Require contact information for all seated patrons
- Limit of 4 people may be seated together
- Limit volume of music to be low enough that a normal conversation is possible
- Screening of patrons is required, in accordance with instructions issued by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health
- A safety plan is required to be prepared and made available upon request
Retail
New for Red-Control as of February 2021:
- Capacity limits of:
- 75% for supermarkets and other stores that primarily sell groceries, convenience stores, pharmacies
- 50% for all other retail, including discount and big box retailers, liquor stores, hardware stores and garden centres
- Stores must post capacity limit publicly
- Stores must have passive screening for patrons (for example, posting signs outside the store front about not entering if you have COVID-19covid 19 symptoms)
- This does not apply to indoor malls, which are required to actively screen their customers before they enter the mall. Malls can use the patron screening tool to help meet this requirement.
- Stores within the malls subject to appropriate retail measures
- Fitting rooms must be limited to non-adjacent stalls
- Line-ups and patrons congregating outside venues managed by venue; 2 metres distance required inside and outside; face covering also required while in line
- Limit volume of music to be low enough that a normal conversation is possible
- For malls:
- Maximum number of patrons permitted to be seated indoors in mall food court is 10
- A safety plan is required to be prepared and made available upon request
Personal care services
- Oxygen bars, steam rooms, saunas, bath houses and other adult venues, closed
- Sensory deprivation pods closed (some exceptions)
- Services requiring removal of face coverings prohibited
- Require contact information from all patrons
- Screening of patrons is required, in accordance with instructions issued by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health
- A safety plan is required to be prepared and made available upon request
News Release
February 19, 2021
York Region to Return to Strengthened COVID-19 Response Framework
TORONTO — In consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health and the local medical officers of health, the Ontario government is maintaining the shutdown, the Stay-at-Home order and all existing public health and workplace safety measures for an additional two weeks in the Toronto and Peel Public Health Regions, along with the North Bay-Parry Sound District. The York Public Health Region will transition out of the shutdown and into the revised and strengthened COVID-19 Response Framework: Keeping Ontario Safe and Open.
“Our government’s number one priority is the safety of all individuals and families, and that’s why we are taking a gradual, cautious approach to returning regions to the Framework,” said Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “These are difficult but necessary decisions, in order to protect against COVID-19 variants and maintain the progress we have all made together. Until vaccines are widely available, we continue to urge all Ontarians to follow public health advice and measures, and stay home, stay safe, and save lives.”
In the Toronto and Peel Public Health Regions, and the North Bay-Parry Sound District, the shutdown measures and the Stay-at-Home order will continue to apply until at least Monday, March 8, 2021, based on key public health indicators and following consultation with the local medical officers of health. While the Peel and Toronto regions have seen a reduction in COVID-19 transmission from the period of February 8 to 17, 2021, rates still remain too high in the regions, with case rates of 83.4 cases per 100,000 people for Peel and 67.9 cases per 100,000 people for Toronto, both well above the provincial average. During this same period of time, North Bay Parry Sound District has also seen its case rate increase by 11.5 per cent to 14.6 cases per 100,000 people. Variants of concern also remain a serious risk to community transmission and health system capacity.
Based on a general improvement in trends of key indicators, York Region Public Health will be moving back to the Framework at the Red-Control level and will no longer be subject to the Stay-at-Home order. In addition, Lambton Public Health will be moving from the Orange-Restrict level to the Red-Control level as a result worsening public health trends in the region over the past week. These changes will come into effect on Monday, February 22, 2021 at 12:01 a.m.
After returning to the Framework, public health regions are required to stay in their level for at least two weeks. The government will then assess the impact of public health and workplace safety measures to determine if the region should stay where it is or be moved to a different level. Public health regions may be moved to a higher level within the two-week window, if necessary, based on the set indicators and thresholds outlined in the Framework. In addition, Ontario has introduced an “emergency brake” to allow the Chief Medical Officer of Health, in consultation with the local medical officer of health, to immediately advise moving a region into Grey-Lockdown to interrupt transmission.
“While the health indicators have improved enough to allow us to return an additional region to the Framework, we are not yet at the point where we can safely transition back the remainder of the province,” said Dr. David Williams, Chief Medical Officer of Health. “Everyone is strongly advised to continue staying at home, avoid social gatherings, only travel between regions for essential purposes, and limit close contacts to your household or those you live with regardless of which level of the Framework you are in.”
The Chief Medical Officer of Health will continue to consult with public health and other experts, review data, and provide advice to the government on the appropriate and effective measures that are needed to protect the health of Ontarians.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
- Please visit Ontario.ca/covidresponse for the full list of public health region classifications.
- To find the right supports, visit COVID-19: Support for People, which has information about the many available and free mental health services and supports.
- Get tested if you have COVID-19 symptoms, or if you have been advised of exposure by your local public health unit or through the COVID Alert App. Visit Ontario.ca/covidtest to find the nearest testing location.
- Visit Ontario’s COVID-19 vaccine web page to view the latest provincial data and information on COVID-19 vaccines.
CONTACTS
Alexandra Hilkene
Minister Elliott’s Office
David Jensen
Communications Division
416-314-6197
Ministry of Health
