Ontario will lift capacity limits on restaurants and bars starting next week
The time has finally come! Ontario’s restaurants and bars will have their capacity limits lifted as the province exits Step 3 of its reopening plans.
Starting October 25 at 12:01 am, Ontario businesses, including restaurants and bars, will exit the third step of the provincial road map and will no longer have capacity limits.
Indoor and outdoor dining has been permitted with a limited capacity in order to allow physical distancing of two metres. There are no limits on the number of people per table, however.
Since mid-July, Ontario remained in Step 3 of its original reopening plan due to a spike in COVID-19 cases.
Earlier this month, a last-minute announcement saw capacity limits on sporting events, indoor concerts, movie theatres, and other places that require proof of vaccination lifted. However, restaurants and gyms were not included.
Just before Thanksgiving, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health Dr. Kieran Moore told reporters that he and his team were working on a reopening plan at a press conference. But he emphasized that final decisions were up to Ontario to decide.
On Friday, the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table released its latest modelling for the province. It stated that new case numbers should remain stable if current public health measures continue to be in place.
The modelling also shows that cases have continued to decline in most public health units throughout the province. As for hospitalizations and ICU admissions, numbers have remained stable since the last modelling update.
Test positivity rates continue to drop, which means fewer people are testing positive for COVID-19.
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