Hastings and Prince Edward Counties/July 15, 2021 – The province will move into Step 3 of the reopening plan on Friday, July 16 at 12:01 a.m.. In Hastings Prince Edward Counties (HPEC), 80,407 (54%) residents 12 and older have been fully vaccinated (i.e. have received two doses), while 118,038 (79%) have received one dose of vaccine.
“Our community has really worked hard to get our case numbers down, but we all have a role to play to protect our progress and keep case rates low by getting fully vaccinated and respecting public health measures,” said Dr. Piotr Oglaza, Medical Officer of Health and CEO at Hastings Prince Edward Public Health (HPEPH). “The pandemic is not over – and you can prevent future waves of COVID by getting two doses of vaccine as soon as possible”.
Step Three of the Roadmap focuses on the safe resumption of additional indoor services, and larger numbers of people permitted to gather. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Outdoor social gatherings and organized public events with up to 100 people with limited exceptions;
- Indoor social gatherings and organized public events with up to 25 people with limited exceptions;
- Indoor religious services, rites or ceremonies, including wedding services and funeral services permitted with physical distancing;
- Indoor dining permitted with no limits on the number of patrons per table with physical distancing and other restrictions still in effect;
- Indoor sports and recreational fitness facilities to open, subject to a maximum 50 per cent capacity of the indoor space. Capacity for indoor spectators is 50 per cent of the usual seating capacity or 1,000 people, whichever is less. Capacity for outdoor spectators is 75 per cent of the usual seating capacity or 15,000 people, whichever is less;
- Indoor meeting and event spaces permitted to operate with physical distancing and other restrictions still in effect and capacity limited to not exceed 50 per cent capacity or 1,000 people, (whichever is less);
- Essential and non-essential retail with capacity limited to the number of people that can maintain a physical distance of two metres;
- Personal care services, including services requiring the removal of a face covering, with capacity limited to the number of people that can maintain a physical distance of two metres;
- Museums, galleries, historic sites, aquariums, zoos, landmarks, botanical gardens, science centres, casinos/bingo halls, amusement parks, fairs and rural exhibitions, festivals, with capacity limited to not exceed 50 per cent capacity indoors and 75 per cent capacity outdoors;
- Concert venues, cinemas, and theatres permitted to operate at:
- up to 50 per cent capacity indoors or a maximum limit of 1,000 people for seated events (whichever is less)
- up to 75 per cent capacity outdoors or a maximum limit of 5,000 people for unseated events (whichever is less); and up to 75 per cent capacity outdoors or a maximum of 15,000 people for events with fixed seating (whichever is less).
- Real estate open houses with capacity limited to the number of people that can maintain a physical distance of two metres; and
- Indoor food or drink establishments where dance facilities are provided, including nightclubs, dance clubs and restobars, permitted up to 25 per cent capacity or up to a maximum limit of 250 people (whichever is less).
Step Three of reopening will continue for at least 21 days and until 80% of the eligible population aged 12 and over has received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 75 per cent have received their second dose, with no public health region having less than 70 per cent of their population fully vaccinated. Public health and workplace safety measures continue to apply, including maintaining physical distance, and wearing face coverings in indoor spaces and in some outdoor spaces. The regulation with the full list of public health and workplace safety measures is available for review.
For more information:
- Additional information about Step 3 is available at Ontario.ca
- Resources for local workplaces are available at hpePublicHealth.ca/healthy-workplaces. Local business owners/operators who are unable to find answers to their questions on our web page are invited to complete our online inquiry form.
- Vaccination information is available at hpePublicHealth.ca/vaccine-booking/
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Media Contact:
Emily Tubbs, Communications Specialist
etubbs@hpeph.ca
About Hastings Prince Edward Public Health
Hastings Prince Edward Public Health (HPEPH) is a public health agency that serves the counties of Hastings and Prince Edward from four local offices. We monitor the health of our local population, deliver programs and services within our communities, and help develop healthy public policies. We provide information and support in many areas to help improve the health and well-being of our residents. Together with our communities, we help people become as healthy as they can be. For more information, please visit hpePublicHealth.ca. You can also find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram.
We invite community partners and residents to share this Media Release with their respective networks.
