More measures are set to end in Ontario this month. Just days after the province phased out vaccine passports and capacity limits in all settings, Dr. Kieran Moore said Ontario’s mask mandate could be lifted in the coming weeks.
“We are actively reviewing all directives and instructions to healthcare providers or organizations that were temporarily put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Dr. Kieran Moore on Thursday.
Echoing comments made by Premier Doug Ford and Minister of Health Christine Elliott, Dr. Moore said, “We’ll be monitoring the data in the coming weeks but I do agree with the premier and the minister because the trends look so good that we can anticipate removing mandatory masking by the end of March.”
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Dr. Moore added that while masks do decrease your personal risk of getting sick, “we can only mandate masking for so long.”
“As long as the risk is decreasing, we’ll make a decision together as a province together to remove them,” he said, adding that those who are at high risk, including those who haven’t been vaccinated, should continue to wear one.
The decision to remove masks at the end of March coincides with a declining risk in the transmission of the Omicron variant, according to Dr. Moore. “We would anticipate by the end of March, we’ll have a declining risk,” he said.
“I do believe the highest risk is behind us,” he added. Boy, we’ve been waiting a long time to hear those words!
