Ontario’s new COVID reporting system to focus on hospitalizations over daily case counts

As of last week, Ontario is using a new reporting system in place which updates the way it will report daily COVID case counts. There will be less of a focus on daily case counts and more on hospitalizations. The province has also signaled that although more than 75% of eligible Ontarians are now fully vaccinated, the move out of Stage 3 is prolonged for the foreseeable future.

RCC has communicated its concern that some members, namely theatres, continue to operate at significantly reduced capacities. For other retailers, this means that until a full listing of restrictions occurs, you must continue to follow Regulation 364/20, which requires retailers to adhere to capacity limits equal to the number of customers who can physically distance inside the store (see RCC’s capacity calculator for details), and regulates signage on masking and capacity limits, among other things.

As well, Ontario’s case and contact management practice was changed last week to distinguish between fully vaccinated people and others. As part of this, fully vaccinated people exposed to COVID-19 will no longer have to self-isolate after a high-risk exposure, as long as they aren’t showing symptoms.