Toronto 
Toronto Medical Officer of Health is asking dine-in restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and theatres to close temporarily to prevent rapid spread of COVID-19 effective 12:01 a.m., March 17, 2020.
Businesses that provide food takeout and delivery options are encouraged to keep those options available to continue to provide the public with food options while limiting social interactions between people.
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Dr. Eileen de Villa, Medical Officer of Health said, “I believe these unprecedented public health recommendations are necessary in order to protect the health of all Toronto residents. Every opportunity to avoid interactions with others helps to prevent the spread of this disease. Every interaction avoided helps to flatten the curve. So, if you can, stay home, help out our city by reducing your interaction with others. Every little bit counts.”
Dr. de Villa warned that if businesses fail to comply with the recommendation, she will issue orders to individual establishments under Section 22 of the Health Protection and Promotion Act.
“I support Dr. de Villa’s strong recommendation for restaurants, bars, nightclubs and theatres to close their in-house options and focus on delivery and takeout services. We are following the advice of our public health professionals to make sure we are doing everything possible to confront the COVID-19 pandemic and protect our residents and our city. I encourage all Toronto residents to practice social distancing as much as possible to protect their health and the health of their loved ones and neighbours.”, said Mayor John Tory.
Currently, there are a total of 76 cases of the 2019 novel coronavirus in Toronto.
