As of Tuesday, proof of COVID-19 vaccination will no longer be required at most restaurants, gyms, and movie theatres in Ontario, although businesses and other settings may choose to continue to require proof of vaccination. For now, vaccine requirements remain in place at long-term care homes and in health care settings.

Capacity limits in all other indoor public settings, including nightclubs and sporting/concert venues, are also lifted.

Restrictions are also lifting on social gathering sizes (e.g., settings where capacity was limited to the number of people who could maintain two metres of distance, including weddings, funerals, retail stores, grocery stores, and pharmacies).

Masking requirements will remain in place at this time, but in a press conference on Monday, Premier Doug Ford said that the province isn’t far away from removing the restrictions. He noted that the vaccine certificate system was meant to be time-limited, and he is now removing it due to the advice of the chief medical officer of health.

Still, some health experts are warning that loosening restrictions will be counterproductive.

“So when the Ontario government is giving up on COVID restrictions like vaccine passports & masks…what they are actually doing is giving up COVID protections for people with disabilities, immunocompromised people, young children and the vulnerable,” Dr. Amit Arya, a Palliative Care Physician, tweeted.

So when the Ontario government is giving up on COVID restrictions like vaccine passports & masks…what they are actually doing is giving up COVID protections for people with disabilities, immunocompromised people, young children and the vulnerable.

Remember that.

— Dr. Amit Arya (@AmitAryaMD) March 1, 2022

On Tuesday, Ontario reported 914 people in hospital with COVID-19, including 278 people in intensive care. There were 842 COVID hospitalizations recorded on Sunday and 849 on Monday, although not all hospitals report their data on the weekend.

The province also reported 18 more COVID-19 deaths on Tuesday, with one of the deaths occurring on Feb. 28, five on Feb. 27, two on Feb. 26, and the remaining 10 prior to that.

Provincial officials also noted that 45% of the 914 people hospitalized with COVID were primarily there due to COVID-19, while the remaining 55% were admitted for other reasons, but tested positive for the virus. As for ICU—officials noted that approximately 80% of patients are in ICU primarily due to COVID-19, while 20% are there for other reasons, but also have the virus.

A total of 88 patients in ICU are fully vaccinated, 63 are unvaccinated, 5 are partially vaccinated, and 122 have an unknown vaccination status.

In Ontario, 31,700,519 vaccine doses have been administered; 92.6% of Ontarians 12+ have one dose and 90.5% have two doses.

Click here for more COVID-19 Ontario news, and here for where you could get rapid COVID-19 tests in Toronto (including a drive-thru option).