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Ontario Government Implements New Community Tiering System

By Ontario Volleyball, 11/12/20, 12:45PM EST

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On November 3rd, the Government of Ontario announced a new tiered COVID-19 Response Framework that took effect on Saturday November 7th.

The new Framework breaks down safety measures in five distinct categories that span from tightening measures to protecting public health to loosening restrictions as public health indicators improve.

Communities will be placed and categorized under these distinct categories for the foreseeable future. The Framework is as follows:

  • Prevent/Green (Standard measures)
  • Protect/Yellow (Strengthened measures)
  • Restrict/Orange (Intermediate measures)
  • Control/Red (Stringent measures)
  • Lockdown/Grey (Maximum measures)
     

Information on the full specifications for each breakdown can be found in the image below.

The OVA will be updating the COVID-19 information hub of the website with the new framework, effectively replacing the former Stage 1, 2, and 3 classifications.  We will continue to keep the membership updated as the Government of Ontario releases more information.

We understand that the new tiering Framework may create some confusion as it replaces the previous Government of Ontario Re-Opening plan. With regards to the new Framework as it pertains to sport, communities in the Prevent/Green through Restrict/Orange stages will operate similarly to the previous Stage 3 protocols of the original Ontario Government’s Re-Opening Plan.   These communities are to follow the OVA’s Indoor/Outdoor Return to Play Protocols: Version 2.0.

Communities in the “Control/Red” classification will operate similarly to the previous Modified Stage 2 protocols of from the original Ontario Government’s Re-Opening Plan.  These communicates will follow the OVA’s Indoor Return to Play Protocols: Version 1.2 and Outdoor Return to Play Protocols: Version 1.3.

Communities in Lockdown/Grey will revert to Stage 1 of Ontario’s Re-opening plan.  

Additionally, local Public Health Units (PHU’s) may have extra restrictions that are above and beyond what is required by the Ontario Government’s new framework.

Full details on each tier can be found in the image below.

The OVA will be discussing the new Government regulations under the tiered system in the upcoming online Town Hall on Monday, November 16 at 7:00 p.m. If you would like to attend this meeting, please register at this link and we look forward to providing the membership with further clarification.

Mandatory Masks – Recent Study

Recently the OVA made the announcement that face masks are required to be worn by all participants at all times, including during on court play. This change was implemented as an extra precaution to ensure the safety of all members and to assist with a safe return to sport. A recent study from the University of Saskatchewan (November 5, 2020) has found that exercising with a face mask does not affect performance for healthy individuals during strenuous workouts. That study can be found here.  

The OVA's messaging on this decision can be found here.

There are also exemptions in place for individuals who are not required to wear masks/coverings. For more information, click here.