Canada: Ontario To Lift Vaccine Passport Restriction

The Canadian province of Ontario moves to end the proof of vaccination system, becoming effective on March 1 according to the statement made by Premier Doug Ford on Monday at a news conference. He also announced that the second phase of the COVID-19 reopening program will crank up on Thursday.   

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The announcement disclosed that despite the removal of the vaccine passport system, businesses and other settings may still require proof of vaccination, as well as the mask requirement staying in place. "Like all of you I've waited a long time for this news, but please never doubt that the steps we took together, as difficult as they were, were absolutely necessary and saved tens of thousands of lives," said Ford.

"The extraordinary measures that we introduced during this pandemic were always intended as a last resort. I stood at this very podium and promised you that these tools would only be used for as long as they were absolutely necessary and not one day longer," the Primer decreed.

He emphasized that as long as hospitalizations continue on a downward trend, there will be no need for third doses of vaccine in the passport system. "I think we're going in the right direction, and I'm confident if we keep going down this path, there won't be a reason for it," he noted. The vaccine mandate for visitors and staff in long-term care homes will remain.

Dr. Kieran Moore, Chief Medical Officer of Health disclosed that proof of vaccination, implemented for the first time in September has "served its purpose. We have the level of protection we need to remove public health restrictions," he continued to say in the news conference.

From Thursday, the capacity limits will be removed at indoor settings with the requirement of vaccination proof.