Ontario announces plan to ease public health restrictions

“The evidence tells us that the measures we put in place to blunt transmission of Omicron are working,” said Premier Doug Ford. “We can be confident that the worst is behind us and that we are now in a position to cautiously and gradually ease public health measures. While February will continue to present its own challenges, given current trends these are challenges we are confident we can manage.”

As a result of the additional public health measures enacted on January 5, 2022, the province is beginning to see signs of stabilization in key public health and health system indicators, the government stated in a media release. Per cent positivity has fallen and new admissions to hospital have started to stabilize with length of stay shortening considerably. Over the coming days and weeks, these trends are expected to continue, allowing the province to begin cautiously easing public health measures.

In the absence of concerning trends in public health and health care indicators, Ontario will follow a phased approach to lifting public health measures, with 21 days between each step.

Read the full announcement

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January 31, 2022

Effective January 31, 2022 at 12:01 a.m. Ontario will begin the process of gradually easing restrictions, while maintaining protective measures, including but not limited to:

• Increasing social gathering limits to 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors.
• Increasing or maintaining capacity limits at 50 per cent in indoor public settings, including but not limited to:
• Restaurants, bars and other food or drink establishments without dance facilities;
• Retailers (including grocery stores and pharmacies)
• Shopping malls;
• Non-spectator areas of sports and recreational fitness facilities, including gyms;
• Cinemas;
• Meeting and event spaces;
• Recreational amenities and amusement parks, including water parks;
• Museums, galleries, aquariums, zoos and similar attractions; and
• Casinos, bingo halls and other gaming establishments
• Religious services, rites, or ceremonies.
• Allowing spectator areas of facilities such as sporting events, concert venues and theatres to operate at 50 per cent seated capacity or 500 people, whichever is less.

Enhanced proof of vaccination, and other requirements would continue to apply in existing settings.

February 21, 2022

Effective February 21, 2022, Ontario will lift public health measures, including:

• Increasing social gathering limits to 25 people indoors and 100 people outdoors.
• Removing capacity limits in indoor public settings where proof of vaccination is required, including but not limited to restaurants, indoor sports and recreational facilities, cinemas, as well as other settings that choose to opt-in to proof of vaccination requirements.
• Permitting spectator capacity at sporting events, concert venues, and theatres at 50 per cent capacity.
• Limiting capacity in most remaining indoor public settings where proof of vaccination is not required to the number of people that can maintain two metres of physical distance.
• Indoor religious services, rites or ceremonies limited to the number that can maintain two metres of physical distance, with no limit if proof of vaccination is required.
• Increasing indoor capacity limits to 25 per cent in the remaining higher-risk settings where proof of vaccination is required, including nightclubs, wedding receptions in meeting or event spaces where there is dancing, as well as bathhouses and sex clubs.

Enhanced proof of vaccination, and other requirements would continue to apply in existing settings.

March 14, 2022

Effective March 14, 2022, Ontario will take additional steps to ease public health measures, including:

• Lifting capacity limits in all indoor public settings. Proof of vaccination will be maintained in existing settings in addition to other regular measures.
• Lifting remaining capacity limits on religious services, rites, or ceremonies.
• Increase social gathering limits to 50 people indoors with no limits for outdoor gatherings.

To manage COVID-19 over the long-term, local and regional responses by public health units may be deployed based on local context and conditions.

• Ontario Updating Public Health Measures and Guidance in Response to Omicron
• Updated Eligibility for PCR Testing and Case and Contact Management Guidance in Ontario
• Ontario Further Strengthening Response to Omicron
• All Ontarians 18+ Eligible for COVID-19 Booster Appointments at Three-Month Interval
• Anyone who meets provincial testing eligibility criteria can go to an assessment centre, participating pharmacy, or specimen collection centre for testing. Visit Ontario.ca/covidtestinglocations to find a testing location and for eligibility criteria to be tested.
• For public inquiries, please contact the Provincial Vaccine Contact Centre at 1-833-943-3900 (TTY for people who are deaf, hearing-impaired or speech-impaired: 1-866-797-0007).
• For resources in multiple languages to help local communication efforts in responding to COVID-19, visit Ontario’s COVID-19 communication resources webpage.
• Visit Ontario’s website to learn more about how the province continues to protect the people of Ontario from COVID-19.
• Business who have questions about public health and workplace safety measures can call the Stop the Spread Business Information Line at 1-888-444-3659.
• For public inquiries call ServiceOntario, INFOline at 1-866-532-3161 (Toll-free in Ontario only)