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UPDATE: Looser Restrictions Coming January 31st

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Ontario will be implementing a gradual and phased in re-opening plan later this month.

As of Monday January 31st at 12:01 a.m. social gatherings will be limited to 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors and indoor public settings will be capped at 50 per cent capacity at the following settings:

  • Restaurants, bars and other food or drink establishments without dance facilities
  • Retailers (including grocery stores and pharmacies)
  • Shopping malls
  • Non-spectator areas of sports and recreational fitness facilities, including gyms
  • Cinemas
  • Meeting and event spaces
  • Recreational amenities and amusement parks, including water parks
  • Museums, galleries, aquariums, zoos and similar attractions
  • Casinos, bingo halls and other gaming establishments
  • Religious services, rites, or ceremonies

The province will enact more re-opening measures on the subsequent dates:

February 21, 2022

  • Social gathering limits to 25 people indoors and 100 people outdoors
  • Removing capacity limits in indoor public settings where proof of vaccination is required, including but not limited to restaurants, indoor sports and recreational facilities, cinemas, as well as other settings that choose to opt-in to proof of vaccination requirements
  • Permitting spectator capacity at sporting events, concert venues, and theatres at 50 per cent capacity
  • Limiting capacity in most remaining indoor public settings where proof of vaccination is not required to the number of people that can maintain two metres of physical distance
  • Indoor religious services, rites or ceremonies limited to the number that can maintain two metres of physical distance, with no limit if proof of vaccination is required
  • Increasing indoor capacity limits to 25 per cent in the remaining higher-risk settings where proof of vaccination is required, including nightclubs, wedding receptions in meeting or event spaces where there is dancing, as well as bathhouses and sex clubs

March 14, 2022

  • Lifting capacity limits in all indoor public settings (proof of vaccination will be maintained in existing settings in addition to other regular measures)
  • Lifting remaining capacity limits on religious services, rites, or ceremonies
  • Increase social gathering limits to 50 people indoors with no limits for outdoor gatherings
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January 5th Back To School

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Delaying the start to in-person learning in 2022.

Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore announced Thursday that the start of the 2022 calendar will be on Wednesday, January 5th.

Moore said the province put the two day delay in to allow time to deploy additional safety measures, including non-fit-tested N95 masks for staff in schools and licensed child care settings in addition to a supply of high-quality three-ply cloth masks.

School boards will also get an additional 3,000 standalone HEPA filter units.

Only low-contact indoor sports and safe extra-curricular activities will be permitted when schools return.

Capacity Limits

The province is also further restricting capacity limits to indoor areas of the following setting as of 12:01 a.m. Friday, December 31st:

  • Spectator areas of facilities used for sports and recreational fitness activities (e.g., sporting events)
  • Concert venues
  • Theatres

Testing, Isolation Requirements

Ontario will also only provide publicly-funded polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for high-risk individuals who are symptomatic and/or are at risk of severe illness from COVID-19, including for the purposes of confirming a COVID-19 diagnosis to begin treatment, and workers and residents in the highest risk settings, as well as vulnerable populations.

Those who have a positive result from a rapid antigen test will no longer be required or encouraged to get a confirmatory PCR or rapid molecular test.

Individuals with COVID-19 who are vaccinated, as well as children under 12, will be required to isolate for five days following the onset of symptoms. Their household contacts are also required to isolate with them. These individuals can end isolation after five days if their symptoms are improved for at least 24 hours and all public health and safety measures, such as masking and physical distancing, are followed. Non-household contacts are required to self-monitor for ten days.

Individuals who are unvaccinated, partially vaccinated or immunocompromised will be required to isolate for 10 days.

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More In Ontario Can Register For A Booster Dose Saturday

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The province is expanding the eligibility for a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Starting Saturday, November 6th at 8:00 a.m. you’ll be able to book the third shot if you fall into one of these categories:

  • People aged 70 and older
  • Health-care workers, essential caregivers in congregate settings
  • Those who received both doses of AstraZeneca
  • First Nations people and their non-Indigenous household members

To qualify, between six and eight months needs to have passed since your second dose.

The province’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore said Wednesday that this decision aligns with recommendations made by Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI).

Bookings can be made through the province’s online portal, through either the Thunder Bay District or Northwestern Health Unit‘s website or at select pharmacies.

Ontario is looking for a broader eligibility for the booster dose starting in January 2022.

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No Active Cases Of COVID-19 In The Region

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For the first time in months, there are no active cases of COVID-19 in the region.

The Northwestern Health Unit says there were no new cases for the second day in a row.

It’s different down the road in the Thunder Bay district where there are 16 active cases.

There were four new positive results today.

There were also 419 new cases in Ontario with 279 coming from individuals who are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status.

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NWHU Active COVID Cases Drop Over Weekend

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The Northwestern Health Unit says there is one new case of COVID-19 in the region since their last update on Friday morning.

It’s one of the five total active cases within their catchment area and comes from the Rainy River district.

All of the active cases, including one hospitalization, are currently in the Rainy River health hub.

Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kit Young Hoon says the health unit is continuing to monitor the COVID-19 situation in the Emo area, following an outbreak at Sturgeon Creek Alternative Program and SonShine Christian Kindergarten.

The regional health authority tells us that they’ve now administered 125,255 doses of vaccine to date.

“Our vaccination coverage rate is getting higher,” says Dr. Kit Young Hoon. “Of those in our region aged 12 and older 87.5 per-cent have had at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while nearly 81 per-cent have had two doses. We do continue to offer COVID-19 vaccine appointments in many of our communities.”

Dr. Young Hoon stresses it’s important that anyone who has symptoms of COVID-19 gets tested, even if the symptom is mild.

Provincially, the number for one dose is 87.1 per-cent while the two-dose rate sits at 82.4 per-cent.

To the east, the Thunder Bay District Health Unit is also reporting one new case.

Christine Elliott, Ontario’s Health Minister, says there are 390 new cases Monday across Ontario. Just under 67 per-cent of those (260) are people who are either not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccine status.

(With Files From Sarah McCarthy)

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NWHU COVID Vaccination Numbers Going Up

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Improved, but still below the provincial numbers.

That’s the latest update when it comes to COVID-19 vaccine uptake within the Northwestern Health Unit.

The new numbers show that 83.7 per-cent of those 12+ within the catchment area have had at least one dose of vaccine, while 75.3 per-cent are fully vaccinated.

Those numbers are compared to 84.5 per-cent (at least one dose) and 78.2 per-cent (fully vaccinated) for Ontario as a whole.

The numbers from the Thunder Bay District Health Unit are similar to the NWHU (82.5 per-cent with one dose, 74.6 per-cent fully vaccinated), while in Manitoba those numbers sit at 83.6 per-cent (at least one dose) and 78.7 per-cent (fully vaccinated).

To date, the NWHU has administered 117,647 doses of COVID-19 vaccine.

The health unit tells us they are hosting vaccines clinics throughout the week, with all of them taking place at area schools.

The Health Unit says that if you’d like to book an appointment you can click here to use their online booking system or call them at 1-866-468-2240.

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NWHU Reports Three New Cases

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The Northwestern Health Unit says there are three new confirmed cases of COVID-19 within their catchment area Thursday morning.

All three cases, which the health unit explains they’ve been made aware of since their last report on Wednesday, come from the Kenora region.

They tell us that there are currently four active cases; the three new cases in the Kenora region and one in the Rainy River district. Despite the four active cases on record, two are currently isolating outside of the NWHU catchment area (one from Kenora, one from Rainy River).

Of the active cases in the area, there is currently one hospitalization due to COVID-19. The total number of people admitted to hospitals due to COVID-19 here in the northwest now stands at 81.

The Thunder Bay District Health Unit is reporting one new case Thursday (six active), while in Ontario as a whole there are 513 new cases. That marks the first time since June 13th that the province has seen over 500 new cases in one day.

Meanwhile Ontario logged more than 500 new cases for the first time in two months.

Provincial health officials report 513 new infections and no new deaths.

Of the 513 new cases, 360 are unvaccinated individuals and 56 are partially vaccinated individuals.

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NWHU: Two New Cases, One Active

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The Northwestern Health Unit says there have been two new reported cases of COVID-19 since their last report on Friday.

One of those cases is from the Kenora District, while the other is from the District of Rainy River.

The NWHU tells us that the case from the Rainy River District is not included in the active case count, however, as it is considered resolved. That leaves the case in the Kenora District as the only active one across the health unit’s catchment area.

The regional health authority tells us that 109,788 doses of vaccine have been administered across the region to date.

81 per-cent of all adults (18+) in the NWHU have received at least one shot, while 71.5 per-cent are fully vaccinated.

The numbers for those 12+ are slightly lower; 79.5 per-cent with one dose and 68.8 per-cent fully vaccinated.

The Thunder Bay District Health Unit has two new cases and three actives.

All are related to travel outside Northwestern Ontario.

Ontario reported 164 cases today and 168 Holiday Monday.

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NWHU Adds New COVID-19 Case

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The Northwestern Health Unit is reporting one new case of COVID-19 Thursday morning.

As has been the case the past few days, the new case comes from the Rainy River district.

The regional health authority tells us that there are currently three active cases across their catchment area; two in the Rainy River region and one in the Kenora hub.

To the east Thunder Bay marked their 15th day in a row without a new case.

Meanwhile Ontario reported 185 new cases province-wide and seven COVID related deaths.

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Two New Cases Added By NWHU

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For the first time since July 2nd, the Northwestern Health Unit is reporting two new confirmed cases of COVID-19 Tuesday morning.

Both of the new cases come from the Rainy River district and are part of the three active cases across the NWHU catchment area.

The third active case comes from the Kenora health hub.

A total of 104,814 doses of vaccine have been administered to date, with 79.7 per-cent of all those 18+ here in the northwest having received at least one shot and 67.4 per-cent fully vaccinated.

The Thunder Bay District Health Unit had no new cases to report Tuesday with no active cases remaining.

Across Ontario, there are 127 new cases and two COVID related deaths.

Over 8 million Ontarians are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

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