As the provincial vaccination rates have been increasing, the Ontario government has fast-tracked Phase 3 of Ontario’s reopening plan. On July 16th 2021 at 12:01AM, all 34 Public Health units in Ontario entered Phase 3 of reopening. This is one week earlier than the government had expected, and was done after consultations with Public Health Ontario and the Chief Medical Officer of Health.

According to the COVID-19 modelling data, the second COVID-19 vaccine dose is more than 2x as effective against the Delta varient. As of July 15th, one day before Ontario enters the third stage, over 79% of the adult population have received one dose, and over 59% have been fully vaccinated. The Ontario government’s framework states that the province can enter phase 3 of re-opening once 70-80% of the adult population is partially vaccinated and 25% are fully vaccinated. As we are above this threshold, the medical advise states that it is safe for the province to enter Phase 3 one week ahead of schedule.

Phase 3 of Ontario’s reopening plan focusses on additional indoor services reopening, such as indoor gyms and cinemas, and increasing the capacity for both indoor and outdoor gatherings.

Stage Three of the Roadmap to Reopen includes but is not limited to:

• Outdoor social gatherings and organized public events for up to 100 people
• Indoor social gatherings and organized public events for up to 25 people
• Indoor dining with no limits to the number of patrons per table
• Retail with capacity limited to ensure physical distancing
• Indoor religious services, rites or ceremony gatherings with physical distancing
• Indoor sports and recreational fitness facilities with capacity limits
• Personal care services with capacity limited to ensure physical distancing
• Museums, casinos and bingo halls with capacity limits
• Cinemas, concert, theatres, and other performing arts venues with capacity limits

To view more details, visit the government’s roadmap to reopen website.

With more businesses reopening, it is imperative that we continue to follow all public health measures to protect us against COVID-19, especially the Delta and Lambda variants.