Restaurants, bars launch petition calling for an end to midnight 'curfew'
CBC
With a vaccine passport program now in effect, Windsor-Essex restaurant and bars owners say it should be last call for the midnight "curfew" imposed by public health.
Bars, nightclubs and restaurants have to close by 12 a.m. under a letter of instruction from Windsor-Essex County Health Unit that took effect on Sept. 7. Under the rules, dancing is not permitted either.
The rules were announced while Windsor-Essex had more than 500 active cases of COVID-19, along with some of the highest rates of COVID-19 and test positivity in the province.
But now that case rates are easing and the provincial vaccination certification program guarantees that only vaccinated people are allowed in bars and indoor dining establishments, some in the hospitality sector want to see the rule revisited.
WKND Hospitality Group, which owns The Bull & Barrel, The Goat Tap & Eateries, and Wild Child Nightlife, launched a petition that as of Thursday afternoon has garnered nearly 1,400 signatures.
Matt Komsa, one of the co-owners of WKND Hospitality, questioned why Windsor-Essex is the only jurisdiction in Ontario to have these "punitive" restrictions in place.
"My second question to the health unit is, now that we're only letting in vaccinated patrons...why do we still have to adhere to the letter of instruction, recommendations or laws? Those are all based off of pre-vaccination passport numbers," he said.