Capacity limits increasing for weddings in areas in grey zone as Ontario places another region in lockdown

Ontario Premier Doug Ford answers questions from the media at a mass COVID-19 vaccination clinic during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto on Wednesday, March 10, 2021. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette)

TORONTO — The Ontario government says outdoor weddings will be allowed to go ahead with up to 50 people starting next week for regions currently in lockdown.

Effective March 15 for regions in the grey-lockdown zone, weddings, funerals, and religious services, rites or ceremonies will be permitted to allow for up to 15 per cent total occupancy indoors, or up to 50 people outdoors, the government said.

Regions in the red, orange, yellow, and green zone can currently hold indoor wedding services with 30 per cent capacity, while outdoors there can be up to 100 people.

These rules apply to wedding services but not receptions.

They also announced that as of Monday, Lambton Public Health will go into lockdown, while the Northwestern Health Unit will move into the red zone.

The government said that from March 3 to 9, Lambton Public Health's case rate increased by 30.9 per cent, to 110.0 cases per 100,000 people, which is well above the provincial average.

During the same period of time, the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the region increased by 33.3 per cent.

Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit will move from the green zone to the yellow zone.

No changes were made to any public health units in the Greater Toronto Area.

"While the data shows that Ontario's vaccine rollout is helping to save lives, the next few months are critical," Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams said in a statement Friday.

"We all must remain vigilant and continue following public health advice and measures to prevent transmission, as variants of concern are continuing to become more prevalent throughout the province and threaten to undue all of the positive gains we have all worked so hard to achieve."