Some Southern Ontario restaurants are banning out-of-town customers as COVID-19 cases surge in nearby hot spots like Toronto and Ottawa.

The policy was introduced earlier in the summer when restaurants reopened in June by Ramshackle Industries, which owns four restaurants in Stratford, Ont, reported the Canadian Press.

Because of the tighter restrictions in Toronto, York, Peel and Ottawa as the second wave gains momentum, the company's owner Jessie Votary said the rule is being enforced again.

The restaurants have been explaining the rules before seating customers, with staff checking IDs in a handful of cases, and some non-locals have been turned away from indoor dining.

The GTA is welcome in @simcoecounty any time

Our business community has lots of great restaurants , will actually appreciate your support and will not discriminate

All we ask is you follow the same rules re: masks, distancing ect...as everyone else.

— David Ingram (@dingram68) October 19, 2020

Votary told CP that reactions have ranged from understanding to upset. The same could be said of people's reactions on Twitter.

That's what responsible restaurant owners should do, contact tracing isn't a phone #, it's where you are coming from !! Patrons should support local establishments, not people from other regions...they revoked their rights when they all acted like the rules didn't apply to them! https://t.co/97BGExL75h

— C.Calderone (@CCalderone8) October 18, 2020

Full-time workers earn a living wage at the establishments, rather than relying on tips, which Votary said made it easier to keep up with salaries while weathering some hits to profits.

Other establishments already battered by the pandemic are taking a similar approach in the face of rising infection rates near their communities.

The Ale House in Cobourg and Romby's Tavern and Smokehouse in St. Catharines all announced they were limiting indoor service to locals.

Earlier this week, gym chains L.A. Fitness and GoodLife Fitness asked their clients not to travel from Toronto and Peel Region to work out at open facilities nearby.

GoodLife took the measure of freezing GoodLife members' accounts in hot-zone regions on Oct. 10, preventing them from booking workouts in other areas.