The Ontario government rolled out a new Covid-19 protocol on Wednesday. The “Vaccine Passport” is a document that allows fully vaccinated individuals indoor access to certain establishments such as gyms, nightclubs, restaurants, casinos and sport facilities. Along with the passport, you are required to show a form of government-issued identification with your name and date-of-birth. With a rule like this in place, there has been some backlash from the public, alongside some praise. With the new “passport,’ along with protocols, individuals who are not fully vaccinated will not be able to enjoy the same liberties that vaccinated people do. Businesses have the right to change the ways that they operate to accommodate those who are not fully vaccinated, but also have the power and authority to refuse service to those individuals as well.
With parts of the population not liking the idea of the passport, there has been some backlash from the public. “We have a lot of people who are very upset about us enforcing this, even though we’re just following government regulations. We’ve had to call the police a couple of times, but for the most part, our members are happy to have a safe place to work out.” Jamie Brue, the general manager at Planet Fitness said this when asked about the backlash her establishment has received.
In addition to the backlash, there has been a increase in cancellations. “I feel like we’ve lost a lot of members in the last three days. So, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Wednesday being when they rolled out the passport. We lost probably four times the amount of members we normally do in a week. So, we’re seeing huge backlash from members.” Brue said when asked how the passport affected business.
New protocols create new enforcement regulations to go alongside them, the staff at Planet Fitness have been told that no one without a passport is allowed to use the facilities. “So we’re checking IDs and passports at the front desk, so nobody gets past her front desk without showing proof of vaccination, as well as photo ID and then they scan in as well. So we have a record of everyone who’s checked in.” Brue replied when asked about the new enforcement rules.
With this being the first week of the passport being in effect, time will tell how the backlash will further effect businesses.
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