New restrictions issued by MLHU

New restrictions issued for gyms, restaurants, salons in London and Middlesex County

THE MIDDLESEX-LONDON HEALTH Unit (MLHU) has announced the introduction of new measures to reduce the spread of Covid-19 impacting fitness, personal service, restaurant and banquet hall facilities.

The new measures, which take effect at midnight on Saturday and continue until they’re rescinded, add new distancing, masking and capacity protocols for those businesses, and ban some activities.

Failure to comply with these requirements could bring fines up to $5,000 a day or up to $25,000 for businesses.

According to MLHU officer of health, Dr. Chris Mackie, the new measures are intended to “keep business open, and are being applied only to industries where there has been evidence of Covid-19 spread.”

In addition, Mackie says the measures will help avoid reverting to a modified Stage 2. “These are the sorts of interventions that can prevent spread and… those super-spreader events.”

Changes at restaurants, bars, banquet halls, food trucks/concessions:

No more than six people per table indoors or outdoors;
Patrons must be seated at all times except to enter/exit, place/pickup/pay for an order or use the washroom;
Tables must be separated by at least two metres or a plexiglass/impermeable barrier;
Contact information must be recorded for all patrons, except for takeout, and kept for at least one month and disclosed only to the health unit or a health inspector.

Changes at indoor sports and fitness facilities, including gyms, health clubs, community centres, arenas and dance studios:

Maximum class size of 10 including the instructor;
Each class must be in a separate room or at least nine metres away;
Instructors must wear a face covering or teach virtually, and should use a microphone to reduce shouting;
Patrons must stay two metres away from each other, or three metres during a class;
Heating, venting and air conditioning must be maintained as per provincial regulations;
Steam rooms, saunas, whirlpools and bathhouses must be closed.

Changes at personal service businesses, including spas, hair or nail salons, esthetics, tanning, piercing and tattoo studios:

No services are allowed that requires removal of the face covering;
Employees must wear personal protective equipment, face mask at minimum;
Locker rooms, change rooms, showers must be closed other than to access other areas of the business;
Oxygen bars, steam rooms, saunas, whirlpools and bathhouses must be closed;
Baths, hot tubs, floating pools and sensory deprivation pods must be closed unless for therapy or prescribed/administered by health professional.