Capacity limits announced for some Oxford, Elgin municipalities
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Southwestern Public Health announced on Monday that a Letter of Instruction will be issued requiring the reinstatement of capacity limits to promote physical distancing in certain indoor settings in some of its Oxford and Elgin county municipalities.
The restrictions are directed specifically at municipalities with a weekly incidence rate of 80 active COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people or greater, and/or vaccination rates of fewer than 80 per cent of 12-and-older fully vaccinated.
That means Tillsonburg, with a population of 18,000 and 40 active cases – the highest in the Oxford-Elgin region as of Monday, is high on the list.
“For several weeks the cases in our region have risen steadily,” said medical officer of health Dr. Joyce Lock in a media release. “Our test per cent positivity, our number of cases per 100,000 people, and the pressure on our hospitals all indicate measures must be put into place to stem this rise. These high case counts are taxing local health care providers and disrupting both workplaces and schools.”
In addition to Tillsonburg, the following municipalities are currently impacted: Aylmer, Bayham, Blanford-Blenheim, Malahide, Norwich, South-West Oxford, and West Elgin.
Woodstock, with 36 cases, and St. Thomas, with 35, are currently not on the list due to their higher population (fewer cases per 100,000).
The new restrictions, which impact nearly half of the region’s municipalities, come into effect on Thursday, Dec. 2, and will remain in place for at least six weeks until Monday, Jan. 10.
The Letter of Instruction’s requirements are similar to the province’s ‘Stage Three’ restrictions in the Re-Opening Ontario strategy, and reintroduce the following limits:
Meeting and Event Spaces: Must restrict the use of indoor spaces to 50 per cent of space capacity. Patrons seated at different tables must be physically distanced or separated by a barrier. Visible signage must indicate the capacity limits under which the establishment is permitted to operate.
Restaurants, bars and other food or drink establishments without dance facilities: The total number of patrons permitted to be seated indoors must be limited to 50 per cent capacity. Patrons seated at different tables must be physically distanced or separated by a barrier. Visible signage must indicate the capacity limits under which the establishment is permitted to operate.
Personal care services: Even if the business has decided to require proof of vaccination, the number of clients must be limited to 50 per cent capacity. In addition, visible signage must indicate the capacity limits under which the establishment is permitted to operate.
Facilities used for sports and recreational fitness activities: The total number of members of the public permitted to be in the indoor area of the facility at any one time must be limited to 50 per cent capacity.
Indoor recreational amenities: The number of members of the public must be limited to 50 per cent capacity. Visible signage must indicate the capacity limits under which the establishment is permitted to operate.
Concert venues, theatres, and cinemas: The number of members of the public at an indoor seated concert, event, performance or movie within the concert venue, theatre, or cinema (or in a particular room in the indoor portion) at any one time must be limited to 50 per cent of the usual seating capacity. Visible signage must indicate the capacity limits under which the establishment is permitted to operate.
The Letter of Instruction also reduces gathering limits for weddings, funerals, and religious services where proof of vaccination is required. The capacity for these venues and events must be limited to 50 per cent capacity. The Letter of Instruction does not amend the provincially set limits of 25 people for gathering indoors or 100 people for gathering outdoors, although individuals are strongly recommended to limit indoor gatherings for their own safety.
“As well as adhering to these safety measures, we urge anyone experiencing symptoms resembling COVID-19 to book an appointment at our Assessment Centre,” said Perry Lang, president and CEO of Woodstock Hospital.
“We continue to see the trend that the majority of COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalization are unvaccinated, and for this reason, I urge anyone who has not already done so to get vaccinated.”
Tillsonburg’s COVID-19 assessment centre is located at 17 Bear Street.
“This is the future of the pandemic in Ontario,” said Lock. “Individual health units will tailor public health measures to reflect what is happening locally. If each individual and each business does what they can – we will get there together. Until things approve, I’m using the tools available to public health units to reverse this trend to help our hospital partners and just as importantly to keep our schools and our businesses open.”
The public health unit is committed to reviewing the data regularly and amending the restrictions accordingly.
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