We are learning more details about Ontario’s new COVID-19 vaccination certificate program.
Starting next Wednesday, people eating inside restaurants, going to a movie or working out at a gym will need to show their Ministry of Health COVID-19 vaccination receipt along with their ID.
The requirements will also be in place to go inside bars, concerts, theatres, nightclubs, strip clubs, racing tracks, waterparks, sporting events, casinos, meeting spaces or convention centres.
Provincial officials say the changes are being made to help stop the spread of the virus and to keep businesses open as well as to encourage more people to get vaccinated.
As for who doesn’t need to show proof of vaccination, provincial officials say exemptions will be made for anyone entering an indoor area solely to use a washroom, pay for an order, access an outdoor area through the indoor area, place or pick up an order, retail purchase, admission and bet or winnings in case of a racing track.
In addition, exemptions will extend to kids under 12, anyone under 18 participating in an organized sport, those attending a wedding, funeral service, rite or ceremony, only if they are not attending any associated indoor social gathering like the reception or if the said gathering is at a licensed building.
The exemption also includes anyone with a written document by a physician or a nurse practitioner, stating that they cannot get the vaccine for a medical reason and the effective time period.
On the businesses side, staff will have to match the name and the date of birth of the patron’s ID and vaccine receipt, confirm the document is either a provincially issued receipt or a receipt signed by an Indigenous health provider and make sure the receipt shows the holder has been fully vaccinated for at least 2 weeks.
