Today, Dr. Piotr Oglaza, KFL & A Public Health Medical Officer, issued a Instruction letter in accordance with Section 2 of Schedule 1 of Ontario Regulation 364/20: Rules for Areas in Step 3 and Exit Step of the Roadmap, to require businesses and organizations to reinstate capacity limits and reinforce requirements around masking, physical distancing, and other aspects of public health measures.
This letter of instruction is effective at 12:01 a.m. on December 19, 2021.
“We are seeing a significant increase in cases across multiple settings and sectors due to the new variant of concern, Omicron. Omicron is highly communicable and has made the KFL & A region one of the highest COVID-19 case rates in the province, ”said Dr. Oglaza. “Improved safeguards are required to reduce the number of contacts people have with each other to slow the transmission of disease within the community and to protect our businesses, schools, organizations, healthcare resources, workers and residents.”
KFL & A Public Health’s Letter of InConstruction for businesses and organizations includes the following proactive protection measures:
1) Reinforce the critical importance of public health measures to prevent the transmission of COVID-19.
- Continue to operate in accordance with all applicable laws, including the Occupational Safety and Health Act and instructions under the ROA, 2020, in addition to these instructions that impose one or more additional requirements not set out in Ontario Regulations 364/20 .
2) Reestablish the lifting of recent provincial changes capacity limits Y physical distancing requirements in the Rules in Step 3. This will affect the following companies and organizations:
- Meeting and event spaces, including conference and convention centers
- Restaurants, bars, and other food or drink establishments without dance facilities
- Facilities used for sports and recreational fitness activities, including spectator areas within those facilities and areas where personal fitness trainers provide instruction within those facilities
- Places where commercial film and television production takes place.
- Concert halls, theaters and cinemas
- Museums, galleries, aquariums, zoos, science centers, monuments, historical sites, botanical gardens and similar attractions, with respect to indoor areas
- Casinos, bingo halls and other gaming establishments
- Horse racing tracks, auto racing tracks and other similar places
- Amusement parks, with respect to indoor areas
- Fairs, rural exhibitions, festivals and similar events, as regards the interior areas
- Companies that provide tourist and guide services, including guided hunting trips, tastings and tours for wineries, breweries and distilleries, fishing excursions, horseback tours, walking tours and bicycle tours, with respect to the inland areas.
- Companies that offer boat tours, if the company is allowed to operate according to section 30 of annex 2, O. Reg. 364/20
- Companies and facilities authorized to opt for proof of identification and vaccination requirements
- Real estate agencies, with respect to the open days organized by the real estate agency
- Companies that provide personal care services related to the hair or body, including beauty salons and barbershops, manicure and pedicure salons, esthetician services, piercing services, tanning salons, spas and tattoo studios.
- Indoor Recreational Services
- Outdoor recreational services, relative to indoor clubhouses.
- Photography studios and services, with regard to interior spaces
- Museums, galleries, aquariums, zoos, science centers, monuments, historical sites, botanical gardens and similar attractions, with respect to indoor areas
- Amusement parks, with respect to indoor areas
- Fairs, rural exhibitions, festivals and similar events, as regards the interior areas
- Companies that provide tourist and guide services, including guided hunting trips, tastings and tours for wineries, breweries and distilleries, fishing excursions, horseback tours, walking tours and bicycle tours, with respect to the inland areas.
- Companies that offer boat tours, if the company is allowed to operate according to section 30 of annex 2, O. Reg. 364/20
3) Strengthen masking requirements for facilities used for sports and recreational fitness activities and organized public events and tighten COLLECTING LIMITS for organized public events. This will affect the following companies and organizations:
- Facilities used for indoor or outdoor sports and fitness recreational activities.
- Organized public events, indoor and outdoor
4) Modify the sport to achieve PHYSICAL DISTANCE in facilities used for indoor or outdoor sports and recreational fitness activities.
“It’s really remarkable how far we’ve come with nearly 90 percent of eligible people vaccinated in the KFL & A region; however, with the widespread circulation of the virus in our community, our response must also be generalized, reducing mobility and overall face-to-face interactions. COVID-19 should not be underestimated, ”added Dr. Oglaza. “Every action is important; this means that each additional public health measure you take will reduce the chances that you will become infected and develop severe acute or long-term symptoms of COVID-19.”
The best way for people to protect themselves against the troubling new variant of Omicron is to:
- Get fully vaccinated and seek a third dose when eligible.
- Check for COVID-19 symptoms daily, stay home, isolate, and get tested even if symptoms are mild.
- Avoid social gatherings and limit visiting with other people or receiving guests.
- Stay 2 meters away from people you don’t live with and wear a mask indoors.
- Consider curbside pickup, drop off, or other shopping time, especially if you’re at higher risk for illness.
- Wash your hands frequently.
COVID-19 test appointments can be booked online or by phone at:
For the most up-to-date information, visit Kflaph.ca/Coronavirus or COVID-19 (coronavirus) in Ontario.
Reference-ygknews.ca