Ontario increases indoor dining limits, Hamilton restaurants can now open for 50 diners

The provincial government announced late Friday that restaurants in Hamilton, and other regions in theRed-Control and Orange-Restrict COVID-19 levels,will be adjusted to allow for up to 50 per cent of the indoor dining area to be accessible to the public up to a maximum of 50 diners.

The new rule came into effect on Saturday.

Only those from the same household can sit at a table together, indoors or outdoors, with the exception of those who live aloneor caregivers.

People who live alone can sit with one other household, as can those who are acting as caregivers to someone outside their ownhousehold, Ontario's Ministry of Health said.

"With the weather getting better, creating spaces for them to see people, to get personal interaction, to feel like they at least have a little bit of control over the situationand normalcy, is probably appropriate," Dr. Zain Chagla,an infectious disease physician for St. Joseph's Healthcare in Hamilton, told CBC News.

8 regions move into new zones Monday

On Monday at 12:01 a.m., eight public health units in Ontario will be moving to new levels of the province's colour-coded COVID-19 framework.

Red-Control

• Brant County Health Unit
• Chatham-Kent Public Health
• Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit

Orange-Restrict

• Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health

Yellow-Protect

• Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Public Health
• North Bay Parry Sound District
• Porcupine Health Unit
• Timiskaming Health Unit