The Government of Ontario is removing many of its COVID-19 measures as case counts and hospitalizations decline, including its proof-of-vaccination requirement.
Capacity limits at indoor public settings will also be removed as of March 1 if the health system continues to improve, the provincial government announced. However, masking requirements indoors will remain in place throughout Canada’s most populous province.
Ontario reported 1,540 people in the hospital due to COVID-19 last weekend, compared with counts of more than 4,000 in January. There were 2,265 new cases in the province on February 13, down from a peak of 18,445 on January 1.
The move to end the measures comes against a backdrop of protests that have spread across Canada and hit Ontario especially hard. Demonstrations have shutdown parts of Ottawa for more than two weeks, and protesters had blockaded the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor that serves Canada’s largest trade artery with the U.S.
The province is relaxing some measures starting on February 17. They include increasing social-gathering limits to 50 people indoors and 100 people outdoors, and removing capacity limits in restaurants, sports facilities, cinemas and other places that require proof of vaccination.
Eligibility for booster shots will be opened to youth 12 to 17 years old. Vaccine mandates for staff in Ontario workplaces such as long-term care facilities and hospitals will remain in place to protect the elderly and vulnerable, the government said.
