Sudbury restaurant owner 'hopeful, but not confident' lifted COVID-19 restrictions will last

A Sudbury restaurant owner hopes the end of capacity restrictions for his and other businesses in Ontario on Thursday will remain the new normal.

"We're hopeful, but we're not confident in any way," said Chuck Barbeau, owner of the Di Gusto restaurant in Sudbury's south end.

Barbeau said the two years since the COVID-19 pandemic started have been a roller-coaster ride for restaurants as the rules have changed regarding capacity restrictions.

"I don't think I have any reason to feel confident about anything as far as that goes, because if this thing [COVID-19] flares up again, who knows what they're going to do?" he said.

On Monday, Premier Doug Ford announced the province would move up the second phase of its COVID-19 reopening plan to Thursday.

Businesses like restaurants, bars, gyms and move theatres will no longer be limited to 50 per cent capacity. 

Ford also said that on March 1, the province will lift proof of vaccination requirements for all businesses.

"The extraordinary measures that we introduced during this pandemic were always intended as a last resort," Ford said during his news conference on Monday. 

"I stood at this very podium and promised you that these tools would only be used for as long as they were absolutely necessary and not one day longer."

Barbeau said the end of capacity restrictions will mean he can operate his restaurant as intended. Since January, he has been limited to 50 per cent capacity.

"Our business model is not based on any other number than to be able to bring in as much business as we can," he said. "What it means is that we can, you know, just go back to our normal operation."

Impact on funeral services

For Gerry Lougheed, president and general manager of Lougheed Funeral Homes in Sudbury, Ford's announcement on the end of vaccination requirements was welcome news.

"Well, it means that social distancing will not be in effect," he said.

"According to what I read, the only thing that will be left is the masking. At that point in time, if you're not in a bubble and you wanted to hug somebody after March 1, you'll be able to do that."

Lougheed said that unless funeral homes choose to enforce vaccination mandates, they must have capacity limits that allow for social distancing.

Only members of the same household can hug each other during a funeral service, he said.

Lougheed added that plans to ease restrictions might change how people live with COVID-19.

"And I think that people have come to the understanding that COVID is a reality," Lougheed said.

"But as they said, with masking, triple vaccine, we might get sick, but we're not going to be into ICU or death. And I guess we're going to come to the reality that COVID is part of our everyday life."