Niagara's Acting Medical Officer of Health is clarifying one of the rules under new restrictions for Niagara's restaurants.
Section 22 of the Health Protection and Promotion Act states people can only sit at a table with members of their immediate household and/or up to two people considered 'essential to maintaining physical and mental health.'
Dr. Mustafa Hirji says restaurants are not required to decide what qualifies under that exception.
"There's going to be so much variation from person to person around who is that really critical person in your life that you really rely on. And so what we really ask is that it be left up to individuals to define for themselves who those people are," he explains. "We're not putting it on restaurant operators to really be the ones to tease that out. What we're asking is that they ask the question and they get people to declare that, and we think by the act of declaring that people are generally going to do the right thing. They are going to understand there is this rule here and follow it in good faith."
He hopes asking people to make that declaration will prevent diners from going out with groups of friends.
An example of people who may fall into this category include partners living in separate homes or someone providing a social link to a person living alone.
Click here to listen to Hirji's full interview with Tim Denis.