Now that much of Ontario is moving into Stage 3 of reopening this week, residents in 24 of the province's 34 regions will be able to enjoy things like hitting the gym, dining inside a restaurant, and even attending concerts and other events for the first time in months.
But with the health and safety measures we've all become familiar with, some may wonder how things like live shows can be possible — and how exactly they're going to work.
In Stage 3, nearly all business will reopen including:
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) July 14, 2020
✅Dine-in restaurants and bars
✅Gyms
✅Most personal care services
✅Live shows and movie theatres
✅Casinos
✅Recreational facilities
✅Team sports and events
✅Guide and tour services pic.twitter.com/ug5Y1PRmr7
According to Ontario's detailed framework for this next phase, rules around social distancing and gathering limits of 50 people indoors or 100 outdoors will need to be heeded in venue spaces, regardless of how many stages or acts there are that night. (But performers and venue staff are not included in these counts).
There will also need to be plexiglass or "some other impermeable barrier" between the crowd and musicians — specifically singers and "players of brass or woodwind instruments" due to the potential for aerosol and droplet spread.
“Concerts will be held, as well as plays at the theatre. However, plexiglass will have to be placed between the audience and performers.” Going to a play in Toronto like going to aquarium?
— Peter McArthur (@Pete_McArthur) July 14, 2020
What’s included in Stage 3 of Ontario’s reopening plan https://t.co/YKxzGLs7ic via @YouTube
Everyone present at such an event will need to maintain at least a two metre distance from one another (so sadly no moshing, but distanced sing-alongs are okay), but performers will be allowed to get a little cozier with bandmates if it is "necessary for purposes of the performance," the province says.
And, if the event is in a city or region that mandates mask-wearing in indoor public spaces (such as Toronto, Ottawa, Kingston, Durham, and Peel), attendees will need to have those on, too.
Drive-in concerts and events, which are becoming progressively more popular for obvious reasons, will get a little more leeway, and will not be subject to gathering limits, plexiglass, or mask bylaws.
boy I miss concerts and festivals so freaking much. I know the first one I fall in gon be well worth the wait though.
— project patricia (@_laslimm) July 14, 2020
Basically, though citizens can surely be thrilled at the prospect of getting to see their favourite bands in-person once more, it's safe to say that, like with everything else in this strange new world under COVID-19, things are going to feel a whole lot different than before.
by Becky Robertson via blogTO
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