Letting sports venues have full capacity makes zero sense

Ontario lifts capacity limits for theatres and pro sports venues, but not gyms or restaurants, Oct. 8

In the Thursday Star, there are articles denouncing the decision to enforce capacity limits in restaurants and bars while allowing full capacity in sports venues. The suggestion is that capacity restrictions should be lifted at restaurants and bars. I fail to understand this logic.

Ontario’s COVID numbers have just started to ease slightly, although gatherings at Thanksgiving may change that soon. Why does it make sense to allow so many people indoors, unmasked, even when fully vaccinated?

The numbers clearly show that while the majority of patients hospitalized with COVID are unvaccinated, there is still a fairly significant number who are fully vaccinated. Being vaccinated should not mean letting down our guards completely, as the infectious diseases specialists keep reiterating.

I know people want a return to normalcy, but with large sports-loving crowds, who are enthusiastically cheering on their teams, at the very least mandate masks so we don’t end up again on this roller coaster of increasing numbers in our hospitals.

Masks necessarily come off in restaurants and bars, so capacity limits are important. At sports venues with such large numbers of people, eating and drinking should not be allowed to allow masks to remain in place throughout. In this way, we may be able to safely congregate as we continue to navigate this pandemic world. Jane Gorman, Toronto