Vaughan postpones its winter recreation programs in light of Omicron spread in Ontario

'Further information will be provided in the coming weeks,' city says

Yorkregion.com
Jan. 5, 2022
Dina Al-Shibeeb

Vaughan is postponing its winter recreation programs, which were scheduled to begin Saturday, Jan. 15, a week after it temporarily closed its libraries and community centres in light of shortage in staff due to the Omicron variant’s spread.

“Further information will be provided in the coming weeks,” the city said in a statement Jan. 3.

The news comes after Ontario’s announcement that it will be moving into a modified Step 2 of its Roadmap to Reopen effective Wednesday, Jan. 5. Examples of the new measures include closing indoor concert venues and cinemas, retail settings are permitted at 50 per cent capacity and reducing social gathering limits to five people indoors and 10 people outdoors.

With Premier Doug Ford cautioning Ontarians against the new “tsunami” wave of Omicron infection, the province reported Tuesday, Jan. 4 more than 11,000 new COVID-19 cases as hospitalizations continue to rise.

In a tweet, Health Minister Christine Elliott wrote there are at least 1,290 Ontarians in hospitals, compared to 1,232 a day ago and 491 a week ago.

“There is little impact to the city’s current operations as community centres are temporarily closed due to staffing shortages, Vaughan Public Libraries’ (VPL) Community Libraries are closed and the three Resource Libraries continue to operate at 50 per cent capacity,” the City of Vaughan said in light of its decision.

Curbside pickup is available at Community Libraries every day from 1 to 5 p.m.

The city also said that it will offer virtual programs livestreamed via Zoom beginning Saturday, Jan. 15.

Programs include: web development, Roblox, coding, programming and STEM programs; cooking; filmmaking and organizing digital photo collections; and education and music series for individuals with special needs, featuring one-on-one support. Pre-registration is required and can be done at vaughan.perfectmind.com.