Relaxations take effect in Ontario

Six deaths have occurred in the past 24 hours, more than four months, and data are being added to the toll after a review, officials said.

Health Minister Christine Elliott said 485 of the recent infections were in people who had not been fully vaccinated or whose vaccine status was unknown.

There are currently 323 patients in Ontario hospitals due to COVID-19, of which 178 are in intensive care and 153 on ventilators.

The latest figures come as relaxation of capacity restrictions has been implemented in some venues that require proof of vaccination, including theaters, stadiums, concert halls and theaters.

Chief Medical Officer of Health, d^R Kieran Moore said the change was attributed to the stabilization of key public health measures in recent days.

The capacity limit for public events where people stand is now 75% or 15,000, whichever is lower.

For public events where people are seated, the limits are now 75% capacity or 30,000 people. This means that Blue Jays was able to increase the capacity of the Rogers Center in Toronto from 15,000 spectators to 30,000 today.

Vaccine proofing is now required in an open environment with a normal capacity of 20,000 or more people.

Indoor environments with studio audiences such as movie theaters, concert halls, sports events, banquet halls, convention centers, race venues, and commercial film and television productions now have capacity limits of up to 50% or 10,000, whichever is less. This is more than the previous 1,000.

These changes do not apply to restaurants, which must begin requesting proof of immunity from customers for indoor dining on Wednesday when the provincial vaccination certificate system goes into effect.

Restaurants currently have no capacity limits, but a distance of two meters between tables must be allowed.