Ontario not likely to wind down vaccine passport system in January if Omicron persists: health minister
CTV
Ontario's deputy premier says the vaccine passport system may not start to wind down next month as planned if the Omicron coronavirus variant proves itself a greater danger to the public than Delta.
Responding to an NDP query in Question Period on Monday, Health Minister and Deputy Premier Christine Elliott told legislators the system that restricts many indoor public activities to the fully vaccinated may not start shutting down next month as planned.
“We’re planning to start lifting things but if this Omicron variant circulates widely and if it’s as virulent as it has been in other jurisdictions, we are going to need to take a look at that,” she said.
“We anticipate that we will need it for at least the next several months ... and maybe for longer than that, once we know more about the Omicron variant.”
Under the current emergency framework developed by the Ford government prior to the discovery of the Omicron variant, the vaccine passport system could be removed from restaurants bars and fitness centres as early as Jan. 17, 2022.
