New rules announced for indoor dining in Ottawa
Ottawa is moving from Orange-Restrict to Red-Control Level – TORONTO, ON., March 18, 2021 — Ottawa is going to be stepped up to Red-Control level on Friday, March 19 at 12:01 am in the Keeping Ontario Safe and Open Framework.
In consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health, the Ontario Government is moving the Ottawa Public Health region from Orange-Restrict to the Red-Control level. The decision was made at the request of Dr. Vera Etches, Ottawa’s Medical Officer of Health due to the “worsening trends” in public health indicators in the region. Dr. Etches said that multiple COVID-19 indicators in the Ottawa region have been firmly in the red zone for several days now.
“Our government is taking immediate action to contain COVID-19 and protect individuals, families and workers by enhancing public health measures in Ottawa,” said Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “The recent modelling has shown us that we must be nimble in applying public health measures to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission in our communities, and our government will continue to take all necessary steps to ensure the health and safety of Ontarians.”
This will be the first time Ottawa has been in the Red-Control zone. Going from Orange to Red means Ottawans need to cap all gatherings, whether organized or private, at five people inside and 25 outside with the exception is religious services, which can be larger.
To support the province’s economic recovery, the government is cautiously adjusting dining capacity limits at restaurants, bars and other food and drink establishments, for regions in the Grey-Lockdown, Red-Control and Orange-Restrict levels of the Framework, effective Saturday, March 20, 2021 at 12:01 a.m.
For regions in the Orange-Restrict and Red-Control levels, capacity limits for indoor dining will be adjusted and based on a standard, scalable calculation that will allow for up to approximately 50 per cent of the indoor dining area to be accessible to the public, subject to physical distancing rules. The total occupancy cannot exceed 50 patrons in Red-Control and 100 patrons in Orange-Restrict.
Retail stores can remain open but there will be capacity limits of 50 per cent.
Moving to Red also means that Ottawa gyms will also be limited to 10 people per class and in areas with exercise equipment.
Team sports competitions will now be banned but training is allowed with strict measures in place.
Ottawa indoor theatres must also close in the Red zone and karaoke will be prohibited again.
Based on the latest assessment of data, Ottawa Public Health is being moved from its current level in the Framework to the Red-Control level effective Friday, March 19, 2021 at 12:01 a.m., as a result of worsening trends in key health indicators in the region. From March 10 to 15, 2021, Ottawa Public Health’s case rate increased by 24.8 per cent, to 46.8 cases per 100,000 people. In addition, COVID-19 wastewater signal data in Ottawa is worsening.
“Through discussions with the local medical officer of health and local authorities on the current situation in Ottawa, it was decided further action was needed to help ensure the continued health and safety of people in the region,” said Dr. David Williams, Chief Medical Officer of Health. “Given worsening trends it remains critical for everyone to continue to follow public health measures and stay home as much as possible to protect themselves, their loved ones and their communities.”
The Chief Medical Officer of Health will continue to consult with public health and other experts, review data, and provide advice to the government on the appropriate and effective measures that are needed to protect the health of Ontarians.
Quick Facts
- Find out what level and which public health and workplace safety measures are in place for your area.
- Please visit Ontario.ca/covidresponse for the full list of public health region classifications.
- To help stop the spread of COVID-19 and safeguard health system capacity, everyone is strongly urged to continue staying at home and limit trips outside their household and to other regions for essential purposes only, and not to gather with individuals outside of their household. In addition, people are required to wear a face covering when within two metres distance of another individual who is not part of their household (both indoor and outdoor), with limited exceptions.
- Local medical officers of health continue to have the ability to issue Section 22 orders under the Health Protection and Promotion Act, and municipalities may enact by-laws, to target specific transmission risks in the community.
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