Hello everyone,
This past Friday, Ontario officially entered Step 3 of its Reopening Ontario plan. This stage of the plan will have perhaps the most dramatic impact on arts organizations, with galleries and theatres able to reopen and general gathering limits raised to 25 indoors and 100 outdoors. However, this is, very importantly, not a full lifting of restrictions, and there are still a lot of rules still to be followed.
Thankfully, Keith Beecroft, Public Health Promoter at Peterborough Public Health and our favourite public health restrictions interpreter, has sent along two excellent guides, one with a general “explainer “for businesses and organizations, and then a deeper look at capacity limits and the performing arts.
Take it away, Keith:
GENERAL GUIDELINES
We’ve had some time to pore over the details for Step 3 of the Roadmap to Reopening – all of which are captured here in O. Reg. 364/20 but wanted to highlight both some of the constants, and some of the changes. (We will provide the high-level updates below but are happy to answer specific questions if/when they come up). Of the changes, they come into force on Friday, July 16th @ 12:01am. You will notice some commonalties throughout the regs, with whatever sector you’re in – namely that physical distancing is one of the key public health measures, as is the continuation of masks in all indoor public settings.
We have a queue of questions that have come in over the last 72h and will get to them as soon as we are able; thank you for your patience. Likewise, you can also expect to see sector specific guidance coming from us in the coming days… you can also expect a flurry of shorter updates through the week as we learn more, or discover new resources to share with you 🙂
Lastly, there are a host of updates that apply to social gatherings and private settings and things that you might do you in your spare time (yes, we recognize that in addition to being stalwart partners Monday-Friday, you also have other things going on too!) – for all things COVID, everything for summer camps to BBQs to using seasonal properties is found here.
The big ones, though, as they apply to public settings:
- Face coverings or masks
Rules that apply to individuals:
-
- Indoors in a business or organization
- Attending an indoor organized public event and are within two metres of another person who is not a part of the same household
- The face covering or mask must cover the mouth, nose and chin
- Limited exceptions apply
Rules that apply to all businesses that are open:
- Any person in an indoor area of a business or organization or a vehicle that is a part of the business or organization must wear a mask or face covering that covers their mouth, nose or chin, with limited exceptions
- Not required for workers who are in an area that is not accessible to the public and are able to maintain physical distancing of 2 metres
- Physical distancing
- Indoors at a business or facility that is open to the public
- Attending an indoor organized public event
- Limited exceptions apply, including for members of the same household and caregivers, or when necessary to be closer to complete a transaction or receive a service, if a face covering or mask is worn
- Patrons outside a business or place that is open must be managed to ensure they maintain a physical distance of 2 metres
- Patron and employee screening
- Safety Plans
- Safety plans must be prepared, posted in a conspicuous location, and made available upon request
- Some businesses, places and events have additional requirements that need to be included in their safety plan
- Cleaning and disinfecting
- Equipment, washrooms, locker rooms, change rooms, showers must be cleaned and disinfected as frequently as is necessary to maintain a sanitary condition
- The changes:
- The “work from home except where necessary” sub-section was removed entirely
- There are changes to the capacity limits section, including:
- If there are no prescribed capacity limits, then the business needs to use physical distancing of 2 metres to set the limits. (Please keep in mind that this is not the total square footage of the place or establishment, but rather needs to consider shelving, displays, checkouts, and room for people to pass each other as well)
- Businesses that get 50% or 25% capacity limits, use their occupancy load number for fire ratings to get their calculation
- Capacity calculations:
- For the purposes of this Order, the maximum number of members of the public permitted in a business or facility that is operating in an outdoor setting at 75 per cent capacity is determined by taking the total square metres of area accessible to the public, dividing that number by 1.33, and rounding the result down to the nearest whole number.
- For the purposes of this Order, the maximum number of members of the public permitted in a business or facility, or part of a business or facility, that is operating in an indoor setting at 50 per cent capacity is determined by taking 50 per cent of the maximum occupant load of the business or facility, or part of a business or facility, as applicable, as calculated in accordance with Ontario Regulation 213/07 (Fire Code), made under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997.
- For the purposes of this Order, the maximum number of members of the public permitted in a business or facility, or part of a business or facility, that is operating in an indoor setting at 25 per cent capacity is determined by taking 25 per cent of the maximum occupant load of the business or facility, or part of a business or facility, as applicable, as calculated in accordance with Ontario Regulation 213/07 (Fire Code), made under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997.
While we ramp up for Step 3, I just want to take a moment to thank you all for allowing us to be a part of this (hopefully never again in our lifetime) journey with you – it has been a privilege getting to know and support your organizations, and we can’t thank you enough for the Herculean efforts you have been through to keep our community safe.
CAPACITY LIMITS AND THE PERFORMING ARTS
Requirements specific to the Performing Arts sector, O. Reg. 364/20, Schedule 2 Section 22.
Please note that there are delineations between seated and non-seated events, and that capacity limits are based on percentages determined by the setting of the event. We are happy to work through specific scenarios with you, but have captured the highlights below.
- Indoor and outdoor venues can open.
- Actively screening staff and volunteers before they begin their shift is required.
- Indoor capacity for patrons at a seated event limited to 50% or 1,000 people, whichever is less; each particular room limited to 50% of the usual seated capacity.
- Outdoor capacity for patrons in the outdoor area limited to 75% capacity to a maximum of 5,000 people, whichever is less.
- Outdoor capacity for patrons at a seated event limited to 75% capacity or 15,000 people, whichever is less.
- Maximum capacity must be posted and are based on the calculations below – for venues operating at either 75% capacity or 50% capacity:
- For the purposes of this Order, the maximum number of members of the public permitted in a business or facility that is operating in an outdoor setting at 75 per cent capacity is determined by taking the total square metres of area accessible to the public, dividing that number by 1.33, and rounding the result down to the nearest whole number.
- For the purposes of this Order, the maximum number of members of the public permitted in a business or facility, or part of a business or facility, that is operating in an indoor setting at 50 per cent capacity is determined by taking 50 per cent of the maximum occupant load of the business or facility, or part of a business or facility, as applicable, as calculated in accordance with Ontario Regulation 213/07 (Fire Code), made under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997.
- In addition, every member of the public who is outdoors at a concert, event, performance or movie must wear a mask or face covering that covers their mouth, nose and chin, with limited exceptions. (Wearing a mask outdoors is a new requirement.)
- Reservations required to attend a seated event.
- Developing, maintaining, and posting a safety plan is required. In addition to the general requirements of the safety plan, the plan also must detail how you will:
- (a) prevent gatherings and crowds in the business or place or at the event;
- (b) ensure that section 3.2 of this Schedule is complied with in the business or place or at the event; and
- (c) mitigate the risk of any interactive activities, exhibits or games that may be included in the business or place or at the event.
In the event that live music will be performed at a venue there must be at least 2m distance, or an impermeable barrier between spectators and performers. Capacity limits for the venue would be determined by the type of place the music is performed (bar or restaurant patio, wedding venues, etc.)
We know there is a lot to take in here and are happy to walk through specific scenarios with you – we’ve copy and pasted the legalese below.
With continued thanks,
Keith Beecroft
THE LEGALESE
Live entertainment: requirements
- (1) The person responsible for a business or place that is open shall ensure that, if live entertainment is performed for spectators at the business or place, the performers maintain a physical distance of at least two metres from any spectators or are separated from any spectators by plexiglass or some other impermeable barrier.
Concert venues, theatres and cinemas
- (1) Concert venues, theatres and cinemas may open if they comply with the following conditions:
- The number of members of the public at an outdoor seated concert, event, performance or movie within the concert venue, theatre or cinema at any one time must not exceed 75 per cent of the usual seating capacity for the concert venue, theatre or cinema, or 15,000 persons, whichever is less.
- The number of members of the public in the outdoor area of the concert, event, performance or movie at any one time must not exceed 75 per cent capacity of the concert venue, theatre or cinema, as determined in accordance with subsection 3 (2) of Schedule 1, or 5,000 persons, whichever is less.
- The number of members of the public at an indoor seated concert, event, performance or movie within the concert venue, theatre or cinema at any one time must not exceed 50 per cent of the usual seating capacity for the concert venue, theatre or cinema, or 1,000 persons, whichever is less.
- The number of members of the public permitted to be in a particular room in the indoor portion of the seated concert, event, performance or movie at any one time must not exceed 50 per cent of the usual seating capacity of the room in the concert venue, theatre or cinema, and the total capacity for the particular room cannot be added to increase the total capacity of the concert venue, theatre, or cinema as provided for under paragraph 3.
- Every member of the public who is outdoors at a concert, event, performance or movie must wear a mask or face covering in a manner that covers their mouth, nose and chin, unless they are entitled to any of the exceptions set out in subsection 2 (4) of Schedule 1, or are seated with members of their own household only, and every member of the household is seated at least two metres from every person outside their household.
- No member of the public may attend a seated concert, event, performance or movie within the concert venue, theatre or cinema unless they have made a reservation to do so.
- The person responsible for the concert venue, theatre or cinema must post a sign in a conspicuous location visible to the public that states the capacity limits under which the concert venue, theatre or cinema is permitted to operate and the capacity limits of any seated concert, event, performance or movie within the concert venue, theatre or cinema.
(2) For the purposes of paragraph 5 of subsection (1), the references to “indoor area” in clauses 2 (4) (i) and (l) of Schedule 1 shall be read as “outdoor area”, and for greater certainty members of the public are permitted to remove a mask or face covering temporarily to consume food or drink, or as may be necessary for the purposes of health and safety.
(3) For greater certainty, the person responsible for the concert venue, theatre or cinema must prepare a safety plan in accordance with section 3.3 of Schedule 1.
Please stay well and let us know how we can help.
TRACK THE IMPACT.
As always, keep checking the EC3 Facebook page, @ECThreePtbo on Twitter, @ec3ptbo on Instagram, and the COVID-19 Updates page on EC3’s website, where we are providing daily updates on programs and services available for ACH workers and organizations.
Be safe, stay healthy, and please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Su Ditta and the EC3 Board and staff
Contact
Su Ditta
Executive Director
Electric City Culture Council (EC3)
electriccitycc@gmail.com
www.ecthree.org
705 749 9101
