As daily COVID cases continue to surge both locally and throughout the province, Toronto's historic Distillery District is taking additional steps to curb the spread of the virus.


Visitors of the Distillery District are now required to wear face masks and coverings -- both indoors and outside. However, the requirement does not apply to people seated at a table to eat or drink, the shopping district announced Thursday.

All children under the age of two are also exempted from the policy.

READ: Toronto Moving to ‘Red Zone’ of Province’s COVID-19 Tiered System

Face masks have been required in all of Toronto’s indoor public spaces since July but the policy does not apply to outdoor public spaces. The Distillery District is now taking that measure a step further by requiring everyone to wear a mask outside -- even if they don’t plan on entering a store.

The popular destination in downtown Toronto marks the first place in the city to make outdoor masks mandatory.

The Distillery District is also reminding guests to be mindful of other visitors; not to crowd common areas; to wash their hands frequently, and to keep six-feet apart.

Currently, the cobblestone district is hosting a pedestrian-only Winter Village, which is running through March 31 and has starlit canopies, a 44-feet Christmas tree adorned with 60,800 LED lights, 500 oversized decorations, and 1,463 metres of gold garland, and festive music.

The announcement comes as Ontario reported 1,210 cases of COVID-19 and 28 deaths Thursday and 1,418 new COVID-19 cases on Friday and 8 new deaths, as the province’s total case count since the pandemic crossed 100,000.

Ontario News