Here's what COVID-19 restrictions change in Waterloo region Tuesday
Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang suggests people take a 'cautious approach to resuming activities'
Indoor capacity limits and proof of vaccination requirements are now lifted, but masking in public, indoor spaces remains to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Below are the provincial regulation changes that take effect in Waterloo region and Wellington county as of Tuesday:
- All capacity limits in indoor public settings have been lifted including in sports arenas, concert venues, theatres, night clubs, and restaurants where there is dancing.
- All capacity limits on indoor weddings, funerals and religious services have been lifted.
- The province no longer requires businesses to ask for proof of vaccination; however, some may continue to do so.
- Masking remains in place. The province says a timeline to lift this measure will be announced at a later date.
- In Guelph, the city's state of emergency will end, which Mayor Cam Guthrie has said is largely an administrative process.
Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang, Region of Waterloo's medical officer of health, warned that the loosening of measures means "more people may become infected."
She suggested people take a "cautious approach to resuming activities." She also said people should get a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, continue to wear a mask including in social gatherings and avoid crowds and enclosed spaces.
"I continue to ask residents to be kind and considerate of everyone's different comfort levels with the removal of measures that have been in place to protect us," Wang said during a media briefing last Friday.
Dr. Nicola Mercer, the medical officer of health for Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health, said in a statement on Monday that reopening is important progress, but "perhaps more important for our continued success is how we reopen."
She said some people will be excited to resume activities while others will still have reservations.
"Whether you find yourself at one of those two poles or somewhere in between, we can all move forward with two important tools at our disposal," Mercer said.
"We can continue to make individual decisions to protect ourselves, using the public health measures we know work. But, we can also move forward with empathy."
Dr. Peter Juni, scientific director of Ontario's COVID-19 science advisory table, told CBC News on Saturday that wastewater analysis shows a slight upward trend in the concentration of COVID-19 in wastewater across the province.
He said there is no reason for alarm and the slight curve upward was to be expected as the province continues to reopen — but did urge people with two doses of the COVID-19 to seek out their third shot.
During the Region of Waterloo media briefing on Friday with Wang, regional Chair Karen Redman also reminded people that not everyone will feel the same way about measures being lifted Tuesday.
"Please continue to be patient and considerate of others," Redman said. "We're all learning how to live with this new normal as best we can."