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COVID-19 rule change: Ontario increases capacity limits in indoor, outdoor settings after vaccine certificate comes into effect

Mask in crowd

The Ontario government announced Friday that capacity limits will be loosened for some indoor and outdoor settings where proof of vaccination is required, as of Sept. 25 at 12:01 a.m.

With more and more Ontarians joining millions of others in rolling up their sleeves, our government is taking a safe and cautious approach to ease capacity limits in certain settings where proof of vaccination is required.Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health.

"With the added layer of protection offered by proof of vaccination, we are ensuring our businesses can remain safe and open as we continue to reach even more Ontarians who have yet to receive a first or second dose."

The following settings will be able to increase their capacity to 50 per cent or 10,000 people, whichever is less, for indoor events:

  • Meeting and event spaces

  • Banquet halls

  • Conference/convention centres

  • Sporting events

  • Concerts

  • Theatres and cinemas

  • Racing venues (ex. horse racing)

  • Commercial and film television productions with studio audiences

Outdoor events venues where people stand can have up to 75 per cent capacity or 15,000 people, whichever is less. For outdoor events where people are seated, capacity limits will increase to 75 per cent or 30,000 people, whichever is less.

Proof of vaccination will be required in outdoor settings where the normal maximum capacity is 20,000 people or more.

"Thanks to the tremendous efforts of Ontarians adhering to public health measures and going out to get vaccinated, some of our key public health and health care indicators are currently stable," a statement from Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario's chief medical officer of health reads.

"Work remains however, and we must all remain vigilant and continue following the measures and advice in place, and continue to work to vaccinate as many Ontarians as possible to achieve the highest immunization rates we can, and to increase our level of community immunity and protect those who cannot receive the vaccine."