Ontario Has Paused Parts Of Its Reopening Plan & Here's What You Need To Know

Ontario's reopening plan was set to lift some of its public health measures next week, but now the government is reconsidering due to growing concerns of active COVID-19 cases.

In a news release posted on November 10, the provincial government revealed that it will be pausing the next step of the reopening plan and will be holding off on lifting capacity limits at remaining higher-risk settings where proof of vaccination is required.

"While Ontario's hospital and intensive care capacity remains stable and the province continues to report one of the lowest rates of active cases in the country, certain public health trends, including the effective reproduction number and percent positivity have increased slightly over the past week," government officials wrote.

"However, out of an abundance of caution, existing capacity limits and physical distancing requirements for higher-risk settings where proof of vaccination is required will remain in place to ensure the province has the required time to better understand any potential impact on hospitalizations and ICU admissions."

This means night clubs, wedding receptions in event spaces with dance floors, strip clubs, sex clubs and bathhouses, as well as other food or drink establishments with dance facilities, won't have their capacity limits lifted quite yet.

In October, the Ontario government laid out its projected timeline for when it would gradually ease its public health measures. These high-risk settings were originally set to have capacity limits lifted on November 15.

The province and Dr. Kieran Moore, the chief medical officer of health, will keep an eye on the data over the next 28 days to see if it can be deemed safe to lift the capacity limits in these particular settings.

On November 9, Health Minister Christine Elliott revealed that some regions in the province could see health restrictions reinstated. Sudbury has already made the call to reimpose distancing and capacity limits at all establishments that require proof of vaccination.

As of November 9, Ontario is reporting 4,022 active COVID-19 cases.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.