Ontario is moving into Step 3 early — here is what that will include

Good news, folks! On Friday, the Ontario government announced that the province would be moving into Step 3 on July 16th, which is 5 days ahead of schedule. The announcement came after the province surpassed the targets it had set for vaccinations, which was the main driver behind moving forward.

As the last step of the reopening plan (before things are truly ‘back to normal’), Step 3 focuses on indoor dining and events, live sports and concerts, and the reopening of nightclubs (woah). That’s just part of it though, so here’s the general list straight from the horse’s mouth.

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• indoor event venues can operate at 50% capacity with a max of 1,000 people
• outdoor event venues can operate at a 75% capacity with a max of 5,000 not seated and 15,000 seated
• retailers, restaurants, indoor religious services, personal care services can host a many customers as can fit with 2-metre physical distancing
• Nightclubs (establishments with dancefloors) can operate at 25% capacity with a max of 250 people
• gyms, recreation facilities, cinema, museums, amusement parks, etc. can operate at 50% capacity
• social gatherings & public events can have max 25 people indoors and 100 people outdoors
• sports venues can operate at 50% capacity indoors with a max of 1,000 people and 75% outdoors with a max of 15,000
• Indoor attractions and cultural amenities
• Casino and bingo halls
• Other outdoor activities from Step 2 permitted to operate indoors

One kicker with indoor dining is that there will be no limit on the number of people per table at a restaurant.

It is important to note that some restrictions, like physical distancing and face coverings in public settings, will continue to be in place throughout Step 3. One reason for this is the prevalence of the Delta covid variant, which is more contagious than the original ‘alpha’ one.

Even still, we’ve got a heckuva lot to look forward to next week, and we can’t wait to show you the best of it. For more information, head to the Government of Ontario website.