New Ontario COVID-19 Restrictions
The Ontario government announced more COVID-19 restrictions on Monday due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, saying the province will return to a modified Step 2 of the reopening plan.
How does this impact City of Mississauga services?
Community Centres and Cultural Facilities
All City-owned indoor recreational amenities, fitness centres, courts, pools, and arenas will be closed and associated programming paused as of the end of day on January 4, 2022 until new direction is given by the province (including all registered programs, drop-ins, leagues and memberships).
Community Centres, Living Arts Centre and Port Credit Arena will remain open for general building access such as washrooms, access to leased/retail space, warming, and shower access.
Daycare and childcare operations in community centres will remain open.
Virtual programming will continue.
Meeting and Event Spaces
All indoor meetings and events booked at City facilities will be cancelled unless the venue is used for a religious service, social services, film and television production or health and safety training. These gatherings will be subject to provincial capacity limits.
Libraries
Will operate with curb-side pick up only. Current hours will remain unchanged.
Entertainment and sporting events
All ticketed events at recreational and cultural venues, including the Paramount Fine Foods Centre and the Living Arts Centre are cancelled and ticket holders will be contacted with further information.
The box office at the Living Arts Centre will remain open for refunds only.
Theatre rentals are available for rehearsals and recording or broadcasting of a performance only.
The City is talking with the Mississauga Steelheads and Raptors905 about whether scheduled games without spectators will continue. More information will be provided when available.
Food Services
All food services operations in City facilities will remain closed.
Museums
Mississauga’s museums will remain closed.
Outdoor Sports and Recreational Fitness
The outdoor skating rinks at Celebration Square and Woodhurst Heights Park, as well as community operated outdoor rinks will remain open.
Washrooms and outdoor recreational amenities open during the winter will remain open.
Enforcement
Enforcement response will continue to be complaint-based only. All calls will be investigated and onsite inspections will be conducted on a priority basis.
Full List of Provincial Restrictions
Gathering Limits Reduced
Social gathering limits will be reduced to five people indoors and 10 people outdoors.
Capacity will be limited at organized public events to five people indoors.
Businesses and organizations will need to ensure employees work remotely unless the nature of their work requires them to be on-site.
Reduced Capacity Limits
Capacity at indoor weddings, funerals, and religious services, rites and ceremonies will be limited to 50 per cent capacity of a particular room. Outdoor services are limited to the number of people that can maintain two metres of physical distance.Social gatherings associated with these services must adhere to the social gathering limits.
Retail settings, including shopping malls, will be permitted at 50 per cent capacity. For shopping malls, physical distancing will be required in line-ups and food courts will be required to close.
Personal care services will be permitted to operate at 50 per cent capacity. Saunas, steam rooms, and oxygen bars will be closed.
Public libraries limited to 50 per cent capacity.
Closures
Indoor meeting and event spaces are required to close with limited exceptions, but outdoor spaces can remain open with restrictions.
Indoor dining at restaurants, bars and other food or drink establishments will no longer be permited. Outdoor dining with restrictions, takeout, drive through and delivery is permitted.
Indoor concert venues, theatres and cinemas will be closed, but rehearsals and recorded performances are permitted with restrictions.
Museums, galleries, zoos, science centres, landmarks, historic sites, botanical gardens and similar attractions, amusement parks and waterparks, tour and guide services and fairs, rural exhibitions, and festivals will all close. Outdoor establishments will be permitted to open with restrictions and with spectator occupancy, where applicable, limited to 50 per cent capacity.
Indoor horse racing tracks, car racing tracks and other similar venues will close. Outdoor establishments will be permitted to open with restrictions and with spectator occupancy limited to 50 per cent capacity. Boat tours will be permitted at 50 per cent capacity.
Indoor sport and recreational fitness facilities, including gyms, will be closed, except for athletes training for the Olympics and Paralympics and select professional and elite amateur sport leagues. Outdoor facilities will be permitted to operate but with the number of spectators not to exceed 50 per cent occupancy and other requirements.
School Closures
All publicly funded and private schools will move to remote learning starting January 5 until at least January 17, subject to public health trends and operational considerations.
School buildings would be permitted to open for child care operations and to provide in-person instruction for students with special education needs who cannot be accommodated remotely.
Surgeries
On Jan. 5, the Chief Medical Officer of Health will reinstate Directive 2 for hospitals and regulated health professionals, instructing hospitals to pause all non-emergent and non-urgent surgeries and procedures in order to "preserve critical care and human resource capacity."
