The Ontario government is tightening restrictions on social gatherings and other COVID-19s in the face of new Omicron variants.
“Like many jurisdictions around the world, Ontario faces a serious threat from the rapidly expanding variants of Omicron. The situation continues to evolve rapidly and the modeling released yesterday is clear. Unless you take immediate action, serious consequences can occur, “said Dr. Kieran Moore, Director of Health, Ontario. Press conference On Friday.
From 12:01 am on December 19, 2021, informal social gatherings will be limited to 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors.
The state also puts a 50% capacity limit on indoor public facilities such as restaurants, bars, gyms, grocery stores, shopping malls and personal care services.
Additional measures have been introduced to ban food and beverage services in certain public places such as sporting events, concert venues, theaters and cinemas, casinos, bingo halls and other entertainment venues.
In restaurants and other conference and event spaces, up to 10 people can sit together at the table. Patrols also need to stay seated in concert venues, theaters and cinemas.
In addition to capacity limits, the Ontario Government has set closing times for certain venues.
Strip clubs that serve food and drink, such as restaurants, bars, other eateries, conference and event spaces, and restaurants, must close at 11:00 pm, except for takeaways and deliveries.
“I know this isn’t the situation we all wanted, especially during the holiday season, but it’s clear that Omicron won’t take a vacation,” Moore said. “These measures give more time to continue vaccination in Ontario with booster doses that provide an additional protective layer against Omicron.”
Moore said more Ontario citizens would be eligible to book a third booster from Monday.
Authorities did not provide a date on when the government could determine the actual impact of the Omicron variant and reassess that a new blockade is no longer needed, despite reports of the new variant. Less harm..
“I want to ensure that the people of Ontario keep track of the data very closely. We don’t want to raise excessive concerns about this. I want everyone to calm down,” Moore said.
“If it turns out to be harmless, we can tell it and possibly change public health measures.”
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Andrew Chen is a Toronto-based Epoch Times reporter.