Here’s what you need to know about Ontario’s sped up reopening timeline

Ontario is speeding up its reopening timeline as hospitalizations in the province continue to decline after Omicron’s peak.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford made the announcement on Monday, with nearly all restrictions set to be lifted by March 1. Public health measures will begin to lift this week.

Here’s the new timeline for Ontario’s reopening plan:

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February 17:

Beginning February 17, capacity limits in most settings will be lifted. Large settings and high-risk settings will continue to have capacity limits.

These are the settings where capacity limits will be lifted entirely:

• Restaurants, bars and other food or drink establishments without dance facilities
• Non-spectator areas of sports and recreational fitness facilities, including gyms
• Cinemas
• Meeting and event spaces, including conference centres or convention centres
• Casinos, bingo halls and other gaming establishments
• Indoor areas of settings that choose to opt-in to proof of vaccination requirements.

Sporting events, theatres and concert venues will be able to operate at 50% of their listed capacity. High-risk settings like nightclubs, restaurants with dance floors, strip clubs and bathhouses will be allowed to operate at 25% capacity.

Restrictions on social gatherings will also be eased. Indoor social gatherings will be able to host up to 50 people, while outdoor gatherings can have up to 100. Indoor public gatherings will have a maximum capacity of 50, while outdoor public gatherings will have no limit.

Indoor weddings, funerals, religious ceremonies, rites and rituals will be able to increase capacity to the number of people who can still physically distance. Capacity limits will be lifted entirely if the location requires proof of vaccination.

Indoor capacity limits on retail settings such as grocery stores, malls, and pharmacies, will be lifted to allow for the number of people who can fit inside while maintaining 2 metres distance.

March 1:

On March 1, capacity limits will be lifted in all remaining indoor public settings. At the same time, proof of vaccination requirements will also be lifted.

Indoor public settings that currently require proof of vaccination can continue to do so if they choose. It will be up to individual businesses to make that decision.

Masking will be the final measure to remain in place at this time. Currently, the province has no timeline to end masking mandates. The province said that a timeline for lifting masking mandates woul be announced at a later date.

Individual public health units will be able to use their powers to introduce new or additional measures if needed.