Ontario Will Start a Gradual Reopening on January 31

Thursday, 20 January 2022 11:49

Indoor dining, gyms, cinemas, arenas, concert venues, casinos and theatres are just some of the businesses that can re-open at 50 percent capacity starting January 31.

Premier Doug Ford announce Ontario's plan to re-open the Province this morning.

Here is the complete list of everything that will open on the 31st.

- 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;
- 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.

The next step of reopening will not come until February 21 at the earliest. At that time, if the numbers continue this trend, they will lift the following restrictions:

- 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.

The plan right now is to lift all restrictions on March 14, at the earliest. Premier Ford says the worst is behind us when it comes to the Provinces battle with the Omicron wave.

"The evidence tells us that the measures we put in place to blunt transmission of Omicron are working. 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."

You can listen to the Premiers opening remarks from the press conference below: