Nearly all of Ontario’s major COVID-19 restrictions will lift today, bringing the province the closest it’s been to pre-pandemic life.
Since a state of emergency was first announced back in March of 2020 by Premier Doug Ford, the province has been in and out of a number of lockdowns.
The latest round of public health measures went into effect just after the Christmas holidays, with the start of the new reopening taking place on February 17th.
This saw facilities such as gyms and restaurants resume business at 50% capacity.
The biggest change coming as of today, will be the lifting of the province’s proof of vaccination requirement for indoor non-essential settings.
This means that businesses will no longer be required to ask patrons for proof of at least two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine to allow entry.
The province notes that while it will no longer be a requirement of these establishments, businesses and other settings may choose to continue to require proof of vaccination at their own discretion.
Today also sees the end to capacity limits in indoor public settings.
Masking will remain in place, however officials have hinted the policy could be lifted sometime in March.
Written by: Kennedy Freeman with files from The Canadian Press
