Mandatory vaccine passports lifted for restaurants

Ontario restaurant employees are celebrating the removal of mandated vaccination passports in their establishments. 

Premier Doug Ford announced there will no longer be a vaccine passport requirement as of Mar. 1, 2022. 

Part of the announcement will allow restaurants to decide if they want to keep a vaccine passport in their establishment. Supervisor at Smoke & Spice, Natasha Currie, says they will not be continuing a vaccine passport for dine in.  

“With restrictions lessoning we are getting busier,” said Currie. “We have had a few phone calls already people asking if we’re going to be eliminating them which we are, and we’ve told them, so people are getting more excited and feeling more comfortable coming in.” 

Since Mar. 17, 2020, there have been restrictions on restaurants in Canada including only outdoor dining, capacity limits or vaccine passport requirements. 

“I’m looking forward to having a full restaurant again and just having people in and the atmosphere of excitement, chatter and laughter so it will be a good time,” said Currie.  

People who are unvaccinated were unable to dine-in at restaurants since September 2021.  

Jenessa Richardson, 21, is unvaccinated and is looking forward to finding out which restaurants will allow her to dine in.  

“I thought the pandemic was going to go for like 10 years honestly,” said Richardson. “If they want me to be vaccinated [to dine in restaurants] than that is their right to say so and so like I am not going to fight. Everyone is entitled to their own choice.” 

Richardson thinks that with the optional vaccine passports, it will help a lot within the restaurant industry and is happy the mandatory vaccine passport has been lifted.  

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit will continue to monitor the state of Covid-19. For more information on the current Covid 19 restrictions go to wechu.org