The Peterborough area is moving to the “red – control” zone designation under the province’s response framework due to rising COVID-19 cases including variants of concern.
The decision came Friday at noon from the province, moving the region two levels from “yellow — protect” where it has been since January. The change impacts the jurisdiction of Peterborough Public Health which includes the city, municipalities in Peterborough County, Hiawatha First Nation and Curve Lake First Nation.
Red is the province’s second-most restrictive level of pandemic measures. The province says the changes will be effective Monday, March 8 at 12:01 a.m.
Read more:
Toronto, Peel Region moving to grey lockdown restrictions under Ontario’s COVID-19 framework
A significant contributor to the new designation is a major and evolving outbreak at the Severn Court Student Residence in Peterborough. As of Friday at 9 a.m. there were 45 COVID-19 cases including 34 identified as variants of concern — screened positive for a VoC but the genomic sequencing results have not been received yet to confirm specifically which variant.
As of Thursday evening, the health unit reported 76 active cases of COVID-19 which includes one confirmed U.K. variant and 43 presumed variants.
Also moving to red are Public Health Sudbury and Districts and the Simcoe-Muskoka District Health Unit.
Under the red-control designation, here’s what’s impacted:
Face coverings/masks: Required for all indoor workplaces and public spaces (with limited exceptions). Workplaces without face coverings require workers to use additional protection including eye
Gatherings and contact: All organized public events and social gatherings limited to five people indoors and 25 outdoors
Religious services, weddings and funerals: 30 per cent capacity indoors or 100 people, whichever is less
Stores:
- Capacity limits of 75 per cent for supermarkets and stores that mainly sell groceries
- Capacity limits 50 per cent for retailers, discount and big-box retailers, liquor stores, hardware stores and garden centres
- Stores must post the capacity limit publicly
- Fitting rooms must be limited to non-adjacent stalls
Restaurants, bars, food establishments:
- Maximum of 10 patrons for indoor dining. Seated patrons must provide contact information. No buffet-style service is permitted. Tables two-metres apart. Outdoor dining, takeout, drive-thru and delivery service still permitted
- Not allowed: Buffets, dancing, singing, live music performance, strip clubs (can only operate as a restaurant or bar)
- Time restrictions: establishments must close by 10 p.m.; no alcohol sold after 9 p.m., no alcohol permitted to be consumed after 10 p.m.
Sports and recreational facilities:
- Capacity limits: 10 people for indoor classes or areas with weights or exercise equipment; 25 for outside classes. No spectators except for one parent or guardian per child
- Team sports: Must not be practiced or played except for training (no games or scrimmage) must keep two-metres physical distance, no contact permitted
- Time restrictions: 90-minute time limit for classes and working out (does not apply for sports). Some exemptions apply for high-performance athletes and parasports
- Outdoor ski, ice and snow recreational amenities open for recreational purposes
Closed: Movie theatres, performing arts venues (no audiences), oxygen bars, steam rooms, saunas, bathhouses and other adult venues.
Friday’s announcement was a positive move for the Haliburton-Kawartha-Pine Ridge District Unit as it slides to “yellow – protect”, down from the “orange – restrict” designation.
More to come…