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People sit on a restaurant patio in Toronto, on July 24, 2020.Yader Guzman/The Globe and Mail

Toronto City Council has approved a measure to extend the city’s outdoor dining season through the winter months.

At a meeting on Tuesday, councillors unanimously approved a motion to extend the CaféTO program until mid-April.

Mayor John Tory had made the move a priority, saying it’s needed to support the city’s restaurant industry.

Restaurant operators, however, have expressed doubt that a government-sanctioned winter patio season will guarantee success.

Indoor dining has been prohibited in Toronto since earlier this month, when the province moved several COVID-19 hot spots back to a modified Stage 2 in the government’s pandemic recovery plan.

The ban is in place until at least Nov. 7.

Countries around the world are working on a coronavirus vaccine, including right here in Canada. Globe and Mail science reporter Ivan Semeniuk discussed the timeline and challenges in developing COVID-19 vaccines during a Facebook live.

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