The growing number of cases of COVID-19 is forcing Ottawa to cut the capacity of local businesses

New capacity limits and physical distance requirements will soon take effect for many Ottawa companies, as the city faces a sky-high COVID-19 case rate likely to be driven by the Omicron variant.

Dr. Vera Etches, Ottawa’s health worker, announced Friday afternoon that she had issued a letter of instruction instructing many companies to limit capacity to 50 percent from Monday.

Shortly afterwards, the province also unveiled new capacity rules, meaning many of the companies targeted in Etches’ letter would actually have to change gears on Sundays instead.

Ottawa Public Health (OPH) on Friday reported 309 new cases of COVID-19, only the seventh time, the daily number has been over 300 – while the rest all took place in the middle of last spring’s third wave.

As of Friday, only 18 cases had been confirmed to be Omicron, though nearly 200 more are believed to be tied to the highly transferable variant.

A large number of companies are affected

The capacity limits announced by OPH apply to:

• Restaurants, bars and other food and beverage outlets.
• Convention centers and meeting or event rooms.
• Personal care such as barbershops, salons and tattoo parlors.
• Indoor sports and recreation facilities as well as indoor clubhouses attached to outdoor recreation facilities.
• Concert venues, theaters and cinemas.
• Museums, galleries and similar attractions.
• Casinos, bingo halls and other venues.
• Indoor fairs and festivals.
• Faith-based organizations and places of worship.

The instruction letter also includes other more targeted restrictions for bars and restaurants, such as requiring guests to stay seated and limiting the number of diners to six per table.

In cases where the province’s directives differ from what the OPH has announced – for example, Ontario’s guidelines exclude religious institutions, specifically mention gyms and grocery stores, and allow more people to eat together at one table – the stricter rules apply.

The province also reduces the limits for indoor social gatherings from 25 people to 10 and outdoor gatherings from 100 people to 25.

Etches cited projections from Ontario’s COVID-19 science advisory table that the province is on “the worst possible curve” and said acting quickly was the best way to ward off an impending wave of COVID-19 hospitalizations.

“As the scientific advisory table said yesterday, waiting to act means waiting to wait until it’s too late,” she said.

The rules are legally binding under the Reopening Ontario Act. Bylaw officers will be ready to enforce the restrictions Monday, city officials said.

‘Extremely difficult decision’

In addition to the new restrictions, Etches said OPH also encourages local businesses to allow employees who could work remotely to do so.

Residents should keep gatherings as small as possible, avoid large crowds and suspend participation in indoor sports, she said.

“It was an extremely difficult decision to issue a letter of instruction at this point, knowing all that people have been through. And there are significant consequences for companies and individuals with this measure,” Etches said.

“We know it will cause additional stress during one of the busiest times of the year.”

A pedestrian walks past a mural adorning the side of a restaurant in Ottawa’s Little Italy neighborhood in October. Restaurants and bars are among the establishments that will be limited to 50 percent capacity. (Trevor Pritchard / CBC)

Test ‘overwhelmed’

As the sharp rise in cases has also “overwhelmed” local test resources, Etches urged people with symptoms to assume they have COVID-19 and isolate themselves – just like those living in the same household, regardless of their vaccination status.

With Omicron, these symptoms include fever, muscle aches, cough, sore throat and runny nose, she said.

While OPH strives to increase its ability to deliver the third dose of vaccine – which will be available to Ontarians 18 and older from Monday – Etches sought to dampen people’s immediate expectations and asked for vaccine seekers to remain patient.

“The reality is that on Monday we may not have many new deals for the newly eligible 18-plus population,” Etches said. “There may be no or very few vacancies.”

The problem is not a lack of mRNA vaccines, Etches said, but rather that immunizations can only be performed by registered health professionals – and there are only so many of them in Ontario to go around.

OPH is in talks with the province about “new approaches” to increasing the pool of immunizers, she added.