Capacity limits are being lifted for some spaces requiring a vaccine passport where COVID-19 outbreaks have been limited.
Ontario announced the changes late Friday afternoon. It affects some indoor spaces where proof of vaccination is required, as well as certain outdoor settings that have a capacity of less than 20,000.
As of Saturday, Oct. 9, capacity limits are being lifted for:
- Concert venues, theatres and cinemas
- Spectator areas of facilities for sports and recreation fitness. Capacity limits remain in place for gyms and personal training.
- Meeting and event spaces, although spaces will still need to limit capacity to allow people to maintain physical distancing
- Horseracing tracks, car racing tracks and other similar venues
- Commercial film and television productions with studio audiences
For these spaces, the requirement for people to be physically distanced at least two metres apart is also being removed, with limited exceptions. Other public health measures such as face coverings, screening and information for contact tracing remain in effect.
Capacity limits for other spaces affected by the vaccine passport system requiring people to be fully vaccinated to enter are still in effect. A person is considered fully vaccinated 14 days after receiving their second dose of the vaccine.
Proof of vaccination is also still required for outdoor settings where the normal maximum capacity is over 20,000 people.
“As we continue to see more Ontarians roll up their sleeves with over 22 million doses administered, our government is cautiously lifting capacity limits in select settings where we know proof of vaccination requirements are providing an added layer of protection to Ontarians,” said Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, in a news release.
The province reports 86.8 per cent of people 12 years and over have at least one dose of the vaccine and 81.9 per cent have two doses.
