Ontario will ease restrictions on indoor dining, cinemas and gyms in Toronto on November 14, a week later than in Peel Region, Ottawa and York Region.
Premier Doug Ford announced the temporary modified Stage 2 restrictions will start to lift in hotspot regions. Others will enter what are being called “restrict” and “prevent” levels under as new tiered early warning system in Ontario – or COVID-19 Response Framework.
At 12:01 am on November 7, gyms and indoor dining in bars and restaurants will resume in Ottawa, Peel and York with new capacity limits and indoor hours.
Ford said Mayor John Tory and Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health Eileen de Villa have asked for “a little more time” before restrictions lift in Toronto. The province’s largest city will see measures lift on November 14.
Meanwhile, Eastern Ontario will move into the “restrict” level and Brant County, Durham Region, Halton Region and the city of Hamilton will move into the “prevent” level.
“We’re implementing an early warning system with clear criteria to help inform when restrictions should be tightened or loosened on a regional basis,” Ford explained during a Queen’s Park press briefing, adding the framework was developed with input from provincial and local public health officials.
The early warning system will incrementally introduce preventative measures earlier so as to avoid broad closures of specific sectors of the economy.
There are five colour-coded levels: Prevent (green), Protect (yellow), Restrict (orange), Control (red) and Lockdown, described in a news release as “a measure of last and urgent resort.”
The system lists specific thresholds for public health indicators, such as the reproductive number, hospital capacity, testing positivity rates and level of community spread so that people can see how the trends are evolving and understand why their region is moving to a different level.
“Indicators will generally be assessed based on the previous two weeks of information,” the framework document states. “However, movement to apply measures will be considered sooner than two weeks if there is a rapidly worsening trend.”
The goal is to get every region to the “prevent” level.
Ontario moved Toronto, Ottawa, Peel and York into 28-day modified Stage 2 amid surging local case numbers in October.
The early warning system announcement comes as Ontario reported a record single-day increase of 1,050 new COVID-19 infections.
Each level also outlines specific public health and workplace safety measures, including targeted measures for specific sectors, institutions and other settings.
The province is also adding more data to its coronavirus dashboard, including sources of outbreaks.
“This information will better help businesses, organizations and local communities access key information to prepare in advance for any changes in their region,” the province said in a statement.
Under the plan, restaurants and bars in the orange Restrict level can resume indoor dining with a capacity of 50 people with a limit of four people to a table. Last call for liquor is 9 pm and establishments must close at 10 pm. Strip clubs will remain closed.
Gyms and fitness centres can reopen with a maximum capacity of 50 people in the Restrict level. Patrons must be screened and the duration of stay is limited to an hour with the exception of sports.
Cinemas are also allowed to reopen in the Restrict level with a 50-person capacity “per facility” – a change from the previous policy.
Go here to see the full list of public health criteria for each level, as well as sector-specific rules.
Here is the status of each Public Health Unit in Ontario in the early warning system:
Lockdown:
- No public health unit regions
Red – Control:
- No public health unit regions
Orange – Restrict:
- Eastern Ontario Health Unit;
- Ottawa Public Health;
- Peel Public Health;
- Toronto Public Health (may be delayed in entering this level until November 14, 2020); and
- York Region Public Health.
Yellow – Protect:
- Brant County Health Unit;
- City of Hamilton Public Health Services;
- Durham Region Health Department; and
- Halton Region Public Health.
Green – Prevent:
- Algoma Public Health;
- Chatham-Kent Public Health;
- Grey Bruce Health Unit;
- Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Public Health;
- Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit;
- Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit;
- Hastings Prince Edward Public Health;
- Huron Perth Public Health;
- Lambton Public Health;
- Leeds, Grenville & Lanark District Health Unit;
- Middlesex-London Health Unit;
- Niagara Region Public Health;
- North Bay Parry Sound District;
- Northwestern Health Unit;
- Peterborough Public Health;
- Porcupine Health Unit;
- Public Health Sudbury & Districts;
- Region of Waterloo Public Health and Emergency Services;
- Renfrew County and District Health Unit;
- Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit;
- Southwestern Public Health;
- Thunder Bay District Health Unit;
- Timiskaming Health Unit;
- Wellington-Duf ferin-Guelph Public Health; and
- Windsor-Essex County Health Unit.
