As of today, sites can accommodate a maximum of 1,000 customers

Posted on December 31, 2021

The Ontario government has announced new capacity limits at sites in response to the increase in the number of COVID-19 cases.

Gyms and concert halls are now required to limit their capacity to 50 percent or 1,000 customers, whichever is less. This applies to arenas, theaters and more. For small rooms, the previous capacity limit of 50% still applies.

The new rules came into effect today. Previously, all venues were running at 50% capacity, which meant that the Scotiabank Arena, for example, which normally has a capacity of 19,800, was still able to attract nearly 10,000 fans.

The province announced 16,713 new cases of the coronavirus on Friday. The province has announced that it will no longer offer free PCR tests widely and that members of the general public with mild symptoms should self-isolate and not request testing. Free tests are only available to people who qualify as “high risk”. Those with a positive rapid test are no longer encouraged to take a PCR test.

Additionally, the province updated isolation guidelines in response to Omicron. Vaccinated people and children under 12 with COVID-19 will only be required to quarantine for five days. Unvaccinated, partially vaccinated and / or immunocompromised people who contract the virus should still self-isolate for 10 full days.

To see the full rules here.

Most provinces in Canada have introduced harvest limits to reduce the spread of the Omicron variant.

Here is a list of Canadian concerts that have been canceled or postponed in recent weeks – but note that many more continue to be canceled.