TORONTO — The Ontario government will be allowing restaurants to open for outdoor dining in the grey-lockdown zone — the strictest zone in the province’s colour-coded framework. This is part of a wider adjustment to dining restrictions for regions in grey, red and orange zones, which came into effect on March 20.
For regions in the orange and red levels, capacity limits for indoor dining have been adjusted and based on a “standard, scalable calculation” that allows for up to 50-per-cent capacity of the indoor dining area, subject to physical-distancing rules. Maximum occupancy is restricted to 50 guests in red zones and 100 guests in orange zones.
In grey zones, including Toronto and Peel Region, where indoor dining is prohibited, outdoor dining will now be permitted, subject to physical-distancing rules, as well as other public-health and workplace-safety measures.
While some dining restrictions have loosened, to ensure continued safety, some public-health and safety measures for indoor and outdoor dining have been strengthened in orange, red and grey zones. These include:
- limiting tables (for both indoor and outdoor dining) to members of the same household with exemptions for patrons who live alone and caregivers
- requiring establishments to have a sign posted, in a location visible to the public, stating the maximum capacity of the space