Ontario tracks to remove capacity restrictions for retail on February 21

Ontario announced today that the restrictions put into place in December and early January will be lifted over the next two months, over two 21-day intervals.

Effective January 31, 2022 at 12:01 a.m., Ontario will:

• Increase social gathering limits to 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors.
• Increase capacity limits to 50 percent for indoor settings like restaurants, bars, indoor dining, cinemas and meeting and event space. Proof of vaccination requirements would continue to apply in existing settings.
• Maintain the existing capacity limits of 50 percent on retailers and malls.
• While work from home will no longer be mandatory as of January 31, remote work will be recommended unless the nature of the work requires people to be on-site at the workplace. Specific language will be provided next week once the regulation is posted.

Effective February 21, 2022 at 12:01 a.m., Ontario will:

• Increase social gathering limits to 25 people indoors and 100 people outdoors.
• Remove capacity limits in indoor public settings where proof of vaccination is required, including for restaurants, cinemas.
• Limit capacity in most indoor public settings where proof of vaccination is not required to the number of people that can maintain two metres of physical distance. In other words, the 50% capacity restriction will be lifted for retailers and malls on February 21.

Effective March 14, 2022 at 12:01 a.m., Ontario will:

• Lift capacity limits in all indoor public settings. Proof of vaccination will be maintained in existing settings in addition to other regular measures.
• Increase social gathering limits to 50 people indoors with no limits for outdoor gatherings.