New rules are out for the province’s proof-of-vaccination system that kicks in September 22nd.
You will have to show your government-issued I.D. along with your paper or digital vaccine receipt for your first and second doses at certain businesses and settings.
You can download or print your receipts through the Ministry of Health website.
Those who do not have access to a computer or printer can call the Provincial Vaccine Contact Centre at 1-833-943-3900.
Full list of affected businesses:
- Restaurants and bars (excluding outdoor patios, delivery and takeout)
- Nightclubs (including outdoor areas of the establishment)
- Meeting and event spaces, such as banquet halls and conference/convention centres
- Facilities used for sports and fitness activities and personal fitness training, such as gyms, fitness and recreational facilities with the exception of youth recreational sport
- Sporting events
- Casinos, bingo halls and gaming establishments
- Concerts, music festivals, theatres and cinemas
- Strip clubs, bathhouses and sex clubs
- Racing venues (e.g., horse racing)
- Indoor areas of waterparks
- Indoor areas of commercial film and television productions with studio audiences
However, I.D. won’t be required for anyone using the province’s vaccine passport app once it is available.
Kaleed Rasheed, the associate minister of digital government, says the province is on track to release it by October 22nd.
You will be able to download an enhanced vaccine certification app that can display a QR code with your vaccine status, and businesses can download a separate app to scan the code.
He adds it will show “limited” information about you, only displaying whether you are eligible to enter.
Provincial offences officers will be visiting businesses starting this week to ensure businesses understand the updated rules.
Health Minister Christine Elliott adds that by-law officers will be monitoring businesses to make sure they are following the requirements.
If a business owner or workers feels threatened when turning someone away due to the proof of vaccination policy, Elliott encourages them to call police.
“If there are any businesses that are concerned that when they refuse entry to a restaurant or gym, or whatever it happens to be, that if any point they feel threatened, we want them to call 911 as soon as possible to make sure that our police officers can be there to assist,” she says.
However, she says she doesn’t expect many such incidents to crop up, and it will be up to each separate police force to determine how to respond to them.
Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore says you won’t have to show proof for quick visits where they believe the risk of transmission is lower.
Those include:
- to use a washroom;
- to access an outdoor area that can only be accessed through an indoor route;
- to make a retail purchase;
- while placing or picking up an order, including placing a bet or picking up winnings in the case of a horse racing track;
- while paying for an order;
- to purchase admission; or
- as may be necessary for the purposes of health and safety.
The list of exemptions include retail shopping, salons and barbershops, places of worship, banks, essential services, your workplace, and patios and other outdoor spaces.
Vaccine certificates won’t be required for children under age 12, or for anyone under age 18 entering a sports or recreation facility for the sole purpose of participating in organized sports.
Medical exemptions:
Anyone who shows a written document, completed and supplied by a physician or registered nurse in the extended class, that sets out “a documented medical reason” for not being fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and how long that medical reason will be in effect.
Exemptions for weddings and funerals:
- A wedding service, rite or ceremony or a funeral service, rite or ceremony, and you are not attending an associated social gathering
- A social gathering associated with a funeral service, or that is being hosted in a business licensed under the Funeral, Burial and Cremation Services Act, 2002
- You can access a social gathering associated with a funeral service or wedding between September 22nd, 2021 and October 13th, 2021, as long as you have a negative COVID-19 antigen test taken within 48 hours beforehand
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