COVID-19 Safety

Updated February 28, 2024

Patrons are strongly encouraged to wear well-fitting, high-filtration face masks (N95/KN95/KF94) during events, because of the potential for viral transmission in indoor environments where physical distancing is challenging.

Masking is a simple and effective means to curb viral spread and make public spaces more accessible, equitable, and inclusive, as well as safer for vulnerable individuals in our communities. Masking also reduces risk of exposure for touring artists whose livelihood and well-being can be negatively impacted by transmission at events and gatherings.

Click here to review Health Canada’s official guidance on masking.

All individuals onsite are requested to practice physical distancing where possible and practice respiratory etiquette (i.e. coughing/sneezing into a tissue or bent elbow, rather than a hand or fist) at all times.

As of Feb 28, 2024: Public Health Ontario has determined that 80% of SARS-CoV-2 cases in Hamilton are related to the rapidly evolving JN.1 variant and its sublineages (JN.1.1, JN.1.2, JN.1.4, JN.1.9).

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COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) is a serious and extremely contagious disease, regardless of your vaccination status. It is classified as a Biosafety Level 3/Risk Group 3 pathogen and is one of Canada’s leading causes of death. An airborne virus, SARS-CoV-2 can be transmitted through exhaled aerosols, particles small enough that they can remain suspended in the air like second-hand smoke or fragrance, for minutes to hours. Most SARS-CoV-2 spread happens in cases where no outward symptoms are present. More than half of viral spread comes from asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic individuals who appear to be healthy. An inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any place where people gather.

In choosing to attend, event attendees/ticket holders fully understand that:

(a) the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and any resulting disease (together with any mutation, adaptation, or variation thereof, "COVID-19" ) is an extremely contagious disease that can lead to severe illness and death, and there is an inherent danger and risk of exposure to COVID-19 in any place where people are present. Government-approved COVID-19 vaccines and boosters, while proven to be effective at preventing serious illness and reducing rates of hospitalization and death, do not eliminate risk of infection (or repeat infections, which have been shown to impair the immune system, substantially increase risk of developing a diverse spectrum of new-onset autoimmune diseases, increase risk of other viral, bacterial and fungal infections, contribute cumulative and significant additional risk of adverse health conditions in multiple organ systems including increased risks and burdens of cardiovascular disorders, metabolic disorders, kidney disorders, and gastrointestinal disorders, increased risks of neurological and psychiatric sequelae such as cognitive deficit, dementia, psychotic disorder, and epilepsy/seizures in the weeks and months after infection, and lead to elevated hospitalization rate and increased mortality risk, regardless of immunization status);

(b) no health and safety policies, assessments, precautions and/or protocols that will be implemented from time to time at and for the Venue (collectively, the "Venue Protocols") by local, provincial and federal governmental agencies, the Venue owner/operator, and/or by the Event Producer and its affiliated companies (as applicable), (individually or collectively, "Event Organizer") and/or third parties, can eliminate the risk of exposure to COVID-19; and

(c) while people of all ages and health conditions can be and have been adversely affected by COVID-19, many public health authorities have determined that (i) people with certain underlying medical conditions are or may be especially vulnerable (including, but not limited to, babies and children, pregnant people, people with chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, moderate to severe asthma, liver disease, compromised immune systems (including as a result of organ transplant), obesity, serious heart conditions, sickle cell disease, and type 2 diabetes), and (ii) the risk of severe illness from the contraction of COVID-19 increases steadily with age, and contracting COVID-19 can result in the further transmission of COVID-19 to ticket holder's spouse/life partner, family members, and other persons in proximity to ticket holder; and

(d) COVID-19 infections have disproportionate impacts on immunocompromised individuals, but COVID-19 has been found to impair the immune systems of anyone infected. As a result, severe reinfections do occur and some people can experience more severe COVID-19 during reinfection. Exposure to COVID-19 can result in subsequent quarantine, illness, disability, other short-term and long-term physical and/or mental health effects, and/or death, regardless of age or health condition at the time of exposure and/or infection, with lifetime risk of post–COVID-19 health issues increasing with subsequent infections; and

e) a non-trivial proportion of SARS-CoV-2 infections (1 in 10 cases) will result in long-term effects known as Long COVID or Post-COVID Conditions (PCC), requiring longer-term care. You can develop Long COVID even if you only had mild to moderate symptoms when you had COVID-19, if you had an asymptomatic infection, or were never formally tested and diagnosed with COVID-19. Symptoms can persist for weeks or months from the initial COVID-19 infection, but you can also develop new ones. Roughly a third of individuals who develop Long COVID had no pre-existing health problems. Each time a person is infected or reinfected with SARS-CoV-2, they have a risk of developing Long COVID. Long COVID conditions can impact the entire body and can include a wide range of ongoing health problems that can last weeks, months, or years. Non-neuropsychiatric symptoms vary by organ systems, including Systemic (e.g. chronic fatigue, post-exertional malaise, elevated body temperature, chills/flushing sweats, fever), Reproductive, Genitourinary and Endocrine (e.g. extreme thirst, menstrual issues/abonormally irregular or heavy periods, sexual dysfunction, urinary issues, bladder control issues), cardiovascular (e.g. palpitations, tachycardia, pain/burning in chest), Musculoskeletal (e.g. tightness of chest, muscle aches, joint pain, stiff neck, muscle spasms, bone ache), Immunological and Autoimmune (e.g. heightened reaction to old allergies, emergence of new allergies, new anaphylaxis reaction, shingles), Head, Ears, Eyes, Nose, Oral, Throat (e.g. sore throat, blurred vision, difficulty swallowing, sensitivity to light, runny nose, dry eyes, changes in voice, eye pressure or pain, bloodshot eyes, conjunctivitis, ear pain, hearing loss), Pulmonary (e.g. shortness of breath, dry cough, breathing difficulty, cough with mucus production, sneezing, rattling breath), Gastrointestinal (e.g. diarrhea, loss of appetite, nausea, abdominal pain, GERD, constipation, hyperactive bowel, vomiting), and Dermatological (itchy skin, rashes, petechiae, COVID toe, peeling skin, brittle or discoloured nails). Neuropsychiatric symptoms include Emotion & Mood (e.g. anxiety, irritability, depression, extreme mood swings, tearfulness, apathy, sense of doom, derealization, depersonalization, anger, impulsivity, suicidality), Sensorimotor (e.g. balance issues such as dizziness/vertigo, pins and needles, tremors, numbness, sensitivity to noise, tinnitus, sensation of brain pressure, nerve pain, vibrating sensations), Sleep (e.g. insomnia, sleep apnea, nightmares, restless leg syndrome), Cognitive Functioning (e.g. brain damage or ”fog”, poor attention, difficulty thinking, difficulty with executive function, difficulty problem-solving, sudden confusion, agnosia), Memory (e.g. short and long-term memory loss, forgetting how to do routine tasks, inability to make new memories), Headaches & Migraines, Taste and Smell (e.g. loss and/or altered sense of smell and/or taste, phantom smells), Speech and language (e.g. difficulty finding the right words, communicating verbally, processing written text, and communicating in writing, difficulty comprehending speech or speaking, slurring speech, and speaking unrecognizable words), and Hallucinations (eg. visual, auditory, tactile). Almost 80% of those people experiencing long-term symptoms have them for six months or more. The more often you get COVID, the higher your risk of complications. Reinfections can occur in under 60 days following a prior infection, occasionally with intervals of under 30 days. Even after an individual’s acute infection phase has passed, SARS-CoV-2 hides in the body and continues to compromise organ systems by driving inflammation and disrupting immune response.

By entering the venue or event space, the attendee/ticket holder assumes all risks, hazards, and dangers arising from or relating in any way to the risk of contracting a communicable disease or illness — including, without limitation, exposure to SARS-CoV-2 or any other bacteria, virus, or other pathogen capable of causing a communicable disease or illness, whether that exposure occurs before, during, or after the event, and regardless of how caused or contracted — and waives any and all claims and potential claims against the ticketing platform, event organizer and against any companies affiliated with the event organizer — relating to such risks, hazards, and dangers.

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Individuals are required to self-assess on day of event and remain at home if they are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms as detailed on the Government of Ontario’s online self-assessment tool.

Individuals with symptoms, who have been in contact with someone with COVID-19, who have been told to self-isolate, or who have travelled outside of the province in the 14 days prior to the event should not attend. A single negative Rapid Antigen Test result does not guarantee that you are not infected with COVID-19. False negatives with antigen tests are common and testing may be less effective against variants that have emerged since tests were manufactured, which is why it is advised that all those who feel they may be infected are advised to test again 24-48 hours after the first results are obtained. Even then, face masking is recommended as a preventive measure: Rapid tests have been shown to miss a substantial proportion of infectious cases, particularly during the early stages of infection.

Attendees are encouraged to maintain a physical distance of at least two metres from every other person (except from their caregiver or from members of the person’s household) wherever possible while on grounds, whether in front of or behind stage, including washrooms and dressing rooms. Access to non-general-admission areas of the venue will be strictly limited to personnel essential to the production.

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All attendees are asked to have their event ticket and government-issued photo ID ready when entering the entrance line-up, in order that the queue can be processed in a smooth and efficient manner.

Per Bylaw 02-54, smoking (tobacco or marijuana) and/or using an electronic cigarette (containing any substance) is not permitted in the venue.

Per Section 45(2) of Regulation 719 of the Liquor Licence Act,. individuals are not permitted to hold, offer for sale, sell, distribute or consume a Schedule I, II, III, IV or V controlled substance as defined in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (Canada) on the venue premises. This prohibition also applies to cannabis and cannabis products, which are classified as Schedule II substances.

No outside drink is permitted in the venue.

Violation of policies will constitute cause for removal from the event.

These measures enable organizers to provide high quality entertainment while keeping artists, crew and staff safe.

Safety plan will be posted onsite and made available for inspection by public health officials upon request.

Due to present circumstances surrounding COVID-19, event status is subject to change. In an effort to enable a safer live experience for all, event organizers will implement new safety initiatives which ticket holders may need to accept and adopt in order to attend events.

Events may be rescoped, postponed or cancelled in response to evolving public health policies and are subject to change if mandated by public health authorities.

While current events related to the COVID-19 pandemic are known, future impacts of the pandemic are unforeseeable and shall be considered a force majeure event to the extent that they prevent the performance of a party's obligations under any contractual agreement. Under force majeure events related to global pandemic and changes in laws or regulations, neither contracted party will be liable for any failure or delay in performing a contractual obligation that is due to any of the following causes, to the extent beyond its reasonable control. For the avoidance of doubt, force majeure shall not include (a) financial distress nor the inability of either party to make a profit or avoid a financial loss, (b) changes in market prices or conditions, or (c) a party's financial inability to perform its obligations hereunder. The party affected by force majeure shall provide prompt written notice to the counterparty of the occurrence of the force majeure event (in reasonable detail) and the expected duration of the event's effect on the party.