Today’s announcement has confirmed that the lifting of measures is in fact happening. Please find the most comprehensive outline of those steps below as they roll out at this point over and over the next couple of months.

The provincial government today released details of steps to cautiously and gradually ease public health measures, starting on January 31, 2022.

In the absence of concerning trends in public health and health care indicators, Ontario will follow a cautious and phased approach to lifting public health measures, with 21 days between each step.

Effective January 31, 2022 at 12:01 a.m., Ontario will begin the process of gradually easing restrictions while maintaining protective measures, including:

• Increasing social gathering limits to 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors.
• Increasing or maintaining capacity limits at 50 per cent in indoor public settings, including but not limited to:

o   Restaurants, bars and other food or drink establishments without dance facilities;

o   Retailers (including grocery stores and pharmacies);

o   Shopping malls;

o Non-spectator areas of sports and recreational fitness facilities, including gyms;

o   Cinemas;

o   Meeting and event spaces;

o   Museums, galleries, aquariums, zoos and similar attractions; and

o   Casinos, bingo halls and other gaming establishments

o   Religious services, rites, or ceremonies.

• Allowing spectator areas of facilities such as sporting events, concert venues and theatres to operate at 50 per cent seated capacity or 500 people, whichever is less. 

Proof of vaccination requirements would continue to apply in existing settings.

February 21, 2022

Effective February 21, 2022, Ontario will lift public health measures, including:

• Increasing social gathering limits to 25 people indoors and 100 people outdoors.
• Removing capacity limits in indoor public settings where proof of vaccination is required, including but not limited to restaurants, indoor sports and recreational facilities, cinemas, as well as other settings that choose to opt-in to proof of vaccination requirements.
• Permitting spectator capacity at sporting events, concert venues, and theatres at 50 per cent capacity.
• Limiting capacity in most remaining indoor public settings where proof of vaccination is not required to the number of people that can maintain two metres of physical distance.
• Indoor religious services, rites or ceremonies limited to the number that can maintain two metres of physical distance, with no limit if proof of vaccination is required.
• Increasing indoor capacity limits to 25 per cent in the remaining higher-risk settings where proof of vaccination is required, including nightclubs, wedding receptions in meeting or event spaces where there is dancing, as well as bathhouses and sex clubs.

Enhanced proof of vaccination, and other requirements would continue to apply in existing settings.

March 14, 2022

Effective March 14, 2022, Ontario will take additional steps to ease public health measures, including:

• Lifting capacity limits in all indoor public settings. Proof of vaccination will be maintained in existing settings in addition to other regular measures.
• Lifting remaining capacity limits on religious services, rites, or ceremonies.
• Increase social gathering limits to 50 people indoors with no limits for outdoor gatherings.

To manage COVID-19 over the long-term, local and regional responses by public health units may be deployed based on local context and conditions.

Please find the news release outlining the comprehensive plan heading into February and March.