Local health units tighten COVID-19 rules for recreation facilities
Three local health units have announced that proof of COVID-19 vaccination will now be required for anyone over the age of 12 who enters an indoor area of a sports or recreational fitness facility to participate in, coach, officiate, or watch organized sport
In a video call held Wednesday, top officials from Middlesex-London, Southwestern Public Health (which covers Elgin and Oxford counties) and Huron-Perth announced the decision, effective Oct. 31.
“These additional protective measures will make it safer for everyone entering a facility for organized sports, whether to play, practice, coach, volunteer, or watch,” says Dr. Miriam Klassen, Medical Officer of Health, Huron Perth Public Health.
According to a joint statement issued by the three health units, the decision to extend the proof of vaccination requirement to all those attending these facilities and to a younger age group involved in organized sport was made due to the nature of sport and fitness activities, which can create opportunities for COVID-19 to spread more easily.
The statement goes on to say, these factors include; close contact between participants, forceful exhalation and increased respiratory rate, prolonged exposure, crowded indoor spaces and the removal of masks/face coverings during physical activity.
It was also made in part because everyone 12 years of age and older is currently eligible to receive the vaccine.
Letters of Instruction will be issued to the owners and operators of facilities in the communities they serve, where organized sports are played or practised.
In addition to players, the provisions of the Letters of Instruction apply to coaches, officials, volunteers and spectators aged 12 and over.
Health units in Windsor-Essex and York Region have also announced similar plans that go above and beyond provincial guidelines.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
They were from different countries and barely spoke each other's languages. More than 20 years later, they're still happily in love
He decided to spend Christmas somewhere that wouldn't involve snowstorm disasters. She was spending the holidays with family, travelling for the first time outside of her native country of Venezuela. 23 years later, they're still in love.
Man who set himself on fire outside Trump trial dies of injuries, police say
A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former U.S. President Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said.
Verdun Airbnb listing taken down amid complaints, fines and frustration from neighbours
An Airbnb in Montreal's Verdun borough was the source of much frustration from neighbours who say there were constant parties at the location. It has been taken down from the app, but housing advocates remain upset about short-term rentals.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Fire in Labrador town under control, officials tells residents to stay away
RCMP say the fire that prompted a state of emergency in a Labrador town is now under control.
12 students and teacher killed in Columbine school shooting remembered at 25th anniversary vigil
Thirteen victims of the Columbine High School shooting were remembered during a vigil Friday on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the shooting that was the worst the nation had seen at the time.
Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza city of Rafah kills at least 9 Palestinians, including 6 children
An Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza's southernmost city killed at least nine people, six of them children, hospital authorities said Saturday, as Israel pursued its nearly seven-month offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
Iraq investigates a blast at a base of Iran-allied militias that killed 1. U.S. denies involvement
Iraqi authorities said Saturday that they were investigating an explosion that struck a base belonging to the Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of Iran-allied militias, killing one person and injuring eight.