Beginning on Sept. 22, proof of vaccination against COVID-19 will be required at many non-essential businesses in Ontario.
According to a live announcement by Premier Doug Ford and other government officials on CTV News Toronto, proof of vaccination will be required at gyms, movie theatres, and will be needed to dine indoors at restaurants under Ontario’s new COVID-19 vaccine certificate program. However, it will not be needed for retail shopping or outdoor patios.
Proof of vaccination certificate would be used alongside a government-issued ID. The province is also working on a phone app that will combine both ID and the vaccine certification. According to CTV’s sources, this information will be embedded into a personalized QR code in October and would allow vaccinated individuals to use their smartphones to display their vaccine status. It is still unknown how this could work for people with no access to cellphones.
According to Waterloo Region’s vaccination task force, approximately 400,000 residents in the Waterloo Region have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 67.9 per cent of residents have had two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.
At a meeting held on Monday night, the Waterloo Region District School Board passed a motion asking that a letter be sent to the Ontario Ministry of Education to add COVID-19 vaccines to the list of mandatory vaccines for eligible students.
However, the move was not passed unanimously when the vote came out with seven in favour, two opposed and one abstaining.
As of Sept. 1, Waterloo health officials have confirmed 18,957 total cases of COVID-19, including approximately 289 deaths. Approximately 154 cases are considered active in the Region.
Kaitlyn Severin
Student Journalist of the Year - JHM award winner, Kaitlyn has worked previously as The Cord’s senior news editor. She’s also published articles for VICE and Shameless.