Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Ontario limits capacity at restaurants and retailers at 50%

Canada’s largest province is cutting capacity at restaurants, bars and retailers to 50% and limiting social gatherings inside restaurants to 10 people in an effort to slow the spread of the omicron variant

Via AP news wire
Friday 17 December 2021 21:24 GMT

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Canada’s largest province announced Friday that it is cutting capacity at restaurants, bars and retailers to 50% and limiting social gatherings inside restaurants to 10 people in an effort to slow the spread of the omicron variant.

Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, said that other new pandemic restrictions will halt the sale of alcohol 10 p.m. and bar the sale of food and drink at sports events and movie theaters.

The new restrictions take effect Sunday. They came a day after neighboring Quebec announced similar restrictions that are to start Monday.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the coronavirus variant is unlike anything they have seen, saying Britain’s experience with surging infections is an urgent call for action. Ontario is Canada s most populous province, being home to about 40% of the country's people.

Over the past seven days, Canada has seen an average of 5,000 new coronavirus cases daily, 45% higher than the previous seven-day period.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in