CORNWALL, Ontario – The Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU) will return to level Orange of the province’s COVID-19 response framework on Tuesday, Feb. 16.
The EOHU, along with the rest of the province of Ontario entered a lockdown on Dec. 26, 2020, which was later followed up by a Stay-at-Home order in Janurary. The Stay-at-Home order was scheduled to expire on Feb. 10, but it was extended to Feb. 16 for the EOHU region and other parts of Ontario.
On Friday, Feb. 12, the province announced that each public health unit would come out of the lockdown based on their rolling seven day average of new COVID-19 cases.
Entering level Orange will loosen several restrictions that were in place during the lockdown.
Level Orange will have the following impacts on the following sectors in the EOHU:
Organized public events including wedding, funeral and religious services:
- Limits for certain organized public events and social gatherings such as functions, parties, dinners, gatherings, barbeques or wedding receptions held in private residences, backyards, or parks, where physical distancing can be maintained:
- 10 people indoors
- 25 people outdoors
- Limits for organized public events and gatherings in staffed businesses and facilities, where physical distancing can be maintained:
- 50 people indoors
- 100 people outdoors
- Limits for religious services rites or ceremonies, including wedding services and funeral services, where physical distancing can be maintained (applied in any venue other than a private dwelling):
- 30% capacity of the room indoors
- 100 people outdoors
Restaurants, bars and other similar establishments:
- Capacity limits, where physical distancing can be maintained:
- 50 patrons seated indoors
- Outdoor dining, takeout, drive through and delivery permitted, including alcohol
- No buffet style service
- Line-ups and patrons congregating outside venues managed by venue; 2 metres distance and face covering required
- Screening of patrons is required, in accordance with instructions issued by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health
- Require patrons to be seated; 2 metres minimum or impermeable barrier required between tables
- Limit of 4 people may be seated together
- Require contact information for all seated patrons
- Face coverings required except when eating or drinking only
- Personal protective equipment, including eye protection, required when is a worker must come within 2 metres of another person who is not wearing a face covering
- Establishments must be closed from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.
- Liquor sold or served only between 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- No consumption of liquor permitted between 10 p.m. to 9 a.m.
- Dancing, singing and performing music is permitted, with restrictions
- Karaoke permitted, with restrictions (including no private rooms)
- Limit volume of music (to be no louder than the volume of a normal conversation)
- Night clubs and strip clubs only permitted to operate as a restaurant or bar
- A safety plan is required to be prepared and made available upon request
Sports and recreation facilities:
- Maintain 2 metres physical distancing, unless engaged in a sport
- Increase spacing between patrons to 3 metres in areas where there are weights or exercise equipment and in exercise and fitness classes
- Capacity limits, where physical distancing can be maintained:
- Maximum of 50 people total in indoor areas with weights and exercise machines and all indoor classes, however each indoor fitness or exercise class can only have a maximum of 10 people and must take place in a separate room, or
- 100 people in outdoor classes, however each outdoor fitness or exercise class can only have a maximum of 25 people
- No spectators permitted, however each person under 18 may be accompanied by one parent or guardian
- Screening of patrons is required, in accordance with instructions issued by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health
- Team or individual sports must be modified to avoid physical contact; 50 people per league
- Exemptions for high performance athletes and parasports
- Patrons may only be in the facility for 90 minutes except if engaging in a sport
- Limit volume of music to be low enough that a normal conversation is possible; measures to prevent shouting by both instructors and members of the public
- Face coverings required except when exercising or playing sports
- Require contact information for all members of the public that enter the facility
- Require reservation for entry; one reservation for teams
- A safety plan is required to be prepared and made available upon request
Meeting and event spaces:
- Capacity limit for the venue, where physical distancing can be maintained:
- 50 people indoors or
- 100 people outdoors
- Limits for wedding, funeral and religious services, rites or ceremonies apply if held in meeting and event spaces:
- 30% capacity of the room indoors
- 100 people outdoors
- Booking multiple rooms for the same event not permitted
- Screening of patrons is required, in accordance with instructions issued by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health
- Establishments must be closed from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.
- Liquor sold or served only between 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- No consumption of liquor permitted between 10 p.m. to 9 a.m.
- Require contact information for all seated patrons
- Limit of 4 people may be seated together
- Limit volume of music to be low enough that a normal conversation is possible
- A safety plan is required to be prepared and made available upon request
- Exceptions for court and government services
Retail:
- Stores must have passive screening for patrons (for example, posting signs outside the store front about not entering if you have covid 19 symptoms)
- This does not apply to indoor malls, which will have to do screening in accordance with instructions by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health
- A safety plan is required to be prepared and made available upon request
- Fitting rooms must be limited to non-adjacent stalls
- Line-ups and patrons congregating outside venues managed by venue; 2 metres distance and face covering required
- Limit volume of music to be no low enough that a normal conversation is possible
- Screening of patrons is required, in accordance with instructions issued by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health
- For malls, a safety plan is required to be prepared and made available upon request
Personal Care Services:
- Oxygen bars, steam rooms, saunas, bath houses and other adult venues, closed
- Sensory deprivation pods closed (some exceptions)
- Services requiring removal of face coverings prohibited
- Require contact information from all patrons
- Screening of patrons is required, in accordance with instructions issued by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health
- A safety plan is required to be prepared and made available upon request
Gaming establishments:
- Maximum of 50 people per facility permitted, where physical distancing can be maintained
- Table games are prohibited
- Liquor sold or served only between 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- No consumption of liquor permitted between 10 p.m. to 9 a.m.
- Require contact information from all patrons
- Screening of patrons is required, in accordance with instructions issued by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health
- A safety plan is required to be prepared and made available upon request
Cinemas and Performing Arts venues:
- Capacity limits per venue, where physical distancing can be maintained:
- 50 people indoors or
- 100 outdoors
- Face coverings required except when eating or drinking only
- Liquor sold or served only between 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- No consumption of liquor permitted between 10 p.m. to 9 a.m.
- Require contact information from all patrons
- Screening of patrons is required, in accordance with instructions issued by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health
- Drive-in cinemas permitted to operate, subject to restrictions
- A safety plan is required to be prepared and made available upon request
- Singers and players of wind or brass instruments must be separated from spectators by plexiglass or some other impermeable barrier
- Performers and employees must maintain 2 metres physical distance except for purposes of the performance
- Rehearsal or performing a recorded or broadcasted event permitted
