Today marks the official beginning of Ontario’s vaccine passport system, and you’ll want to have your certificate and ID at the ready. Proof of full COVID-19 vaccination is now required at many businesses including indoor dining, but not at places like grocery and retail stores.
All of these rules could make navigating shopping malls a bit tricky, especially if you plan on stopping at the food court. To spare you from any more confusion, here’s how proof of vaccination is being enforced at Ontario’s busiest malls.
Cadillac Fairview, who operates Toronto Eaton Centre, Sherway Gardens, Shops of Don Mills, Rideau Centre, Lime Ridge, and several more shopping centres throughout the province, told Curiocity that indoor food court seating areas will be monitored by security.
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“Our Security teams will be stationed at the entrance of food court seating areas to validate visitors’ vaccination passports to ensure that guests planning to use the seating are adequately protected,” their statement says.
Curiocity also got in touch with Oxford Properties, who manage Yorkdale, Scarborough Town Centre, and Upper Canada Mall. “Shopping Centres will close off seating areas within the food courts with one or two access points where centre staff will check proof of identification and proof of vaccination,” they said in a statement.
“All customers can enter the food court to order food directly from food and beverage operators as they offer takeout and pick up options which does not require proof of vaccination.”
It’s worth noting that proof is not required to pick up takeout from the food court. Restaurants within the malls will be doing their own vaccine certificate checks for indoor dining.
The rules also don’t apply to people who are exempt from the requirements, including children under 12 years old and those with government-approved medical reasons with written documentation to prove it.
You’ll have the option of showing either the print or digital version of your vaccine certificate along with a piece of ID until October 22nd, when the province launches an optional QR code you can download and present to businesses for them to scan.
For more info, you can see the list of places where you’ll now need to show your proof of vaccination in Ontario.
