Public Health Sudbury and Districts is expanding its COVID-19 restrictions.
Citing "persistently high and growing...case rates" - the health unit surpassed 4000 cases since the pandemic began on Saturday, less than a month after reaching 3000, with more than a quarter of its total cases in the last 30 days - as well as concerns about the omicron variant, the health unit says - starting Saturday - it's expanding restrictions that had returned to Greater Sudbury across the Sudbury and Manitoulin Districts, reinstating capacity limits and physical distancing requirements, strengthening masking requirements at organized public events and proof of vaccination requirements for those participating in organized sports at indoor facilities, and requiring people work remotely unless the nature of their work requires them to be on site.
At the same time, it will also: limit social gatherings and organized public events to ten people indoors or 25 outdoors; strengthen requirements for basic public health measures like masking, physical distancing, active screening, and contact tracing; strengthen requirements for safety plans for all businesses and organizations; require food and drink establishments to reimplement some protections from "Step Two" of the province's reopening plan, including no buffets and ensuring patrons generally remain seated; extending physical distancing requirements for some activities at indoor sports and recreational fitness facilities to three metres; and prohibiting team sports or games that may result in personal contact unless modified to avoid such contact, with limited exceptions.
In addition, starting next Wednesday, December 15th, it'll require proof of vaccination for those 12 and older for all "non-essential" businesses and organizations where it's currently voluntary under "Step Three" rules, such as personal care services, indoor recreational amenities, museums, galleries, and science centres.