Ontario Ending COVID-19 Proof Of Vaccination On March 1 But Mask Mandate Remain In Place Until Further Notice

Premier Doug Ford along with health minister Christine Elliott and Ontario’s chief medical officer of health Dr. Kieran Moore announced Ontario is scrapping its COVID-19 vaccine passport system on Tuesday, March 1, 2022 but the mask mandate will remain in place until further notice. Ford said he received recommendations from Dr. Moore on the weekend to safely reopen our economy and accepted them and will begin to ease restrictions February 17.

The Ford Government announced “Ontario will also lift proof of vaccination requirements for all settings at this time. Businesses and other settings may choose to continue to require proof of vaccination.”

An official date for lifting the use of masks or face coverings was not confirmed. “Masking requirements will remain in place at this time, with a specific timeline to lift this measure to be communicated at a later date.”

Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, said “Thanks to the efforts of Ontarians to help blunt the transmission of Omicron, our heath care indicators suggest a general improvement in the COVID-19 situation in the province. We are now in a position to lift more public health measures, but it is important to stay vigilant, as we don’t want to cause any further disruption to people’s everyday lives. We must continue to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 in our communities by following the measures in place and by vaccinating those who have not yet received their doses.”

Capacity limits in all indoor public settings will also be eliminated.

The next phase of Ontario’s three step approach to reopening has been moved up to Thursday, February 17 at 12:01am originally scheduled for February 21:

Increasing social gathering limits to 50 people indoors and 100 people outdoors

Increasing organized public event limits to 50 people indoors, with no limit outdoors

Removing capacity limits in the following indoor public settings where proof of vaccination is required, including:

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.

Allowing 50 per cent of the usual seating capacity at sports arenas

Allowing 50 percent of the usual seating capacity for concert venues and theatres

Increasing indoor capacity limits to 25 per cent in the remaining higher-risk settings where proof of vaccination is required, including nightclubs, restaurants where there is dancing, as well as bathhouses and sex clubs

Increasing capacity limits for indoor weddings, funerals or religious services, rites, or ceremonies to the number of people who can maintain 2 m physical distance

Capacity limits are removed if the location opts-in to use proof of vaccination or if the service, rite, or ceremony is occurring outdoors

Capacity limits in indoor public settings such as grocery stores, pharmacies, retail and shopping malls will be at the number of people who can maintain two metres of physical distancing.

Featured Image and Video from Twitter/DougFord