Ontario to lift most mask mandates on March 21
BNN Bloomberg
Ontario is removing most mask mandates on March 21, including in schools, and is ending all remaining public health orders a month later, shifting the onus of protection from COVID-19 to individuals.
Ontario is removing most mask mandates on March 21 and ending all remaining public health orders a month later, shifting the onus of protection from COVID-19 to individuals – a move some experts worry comes too quickly.
Improving health indicators, such as a stable test positivity rate and declining hospitalizations, as well as Ontario's high vaccination rates and the availability of antiviral treatments, allow for these steps, the chief medical officer of health said Wednesday.
"You have to recognize you can't mandate masking forever, that it has to be eventually an individual choice based on an individual's risk assessment," Dr. Kieran Moore said.
"We're at that point by March 21 that we're asking Ontarians to do an individual assessment, acknowledging that the risk remains, but that we're well over the peak of activity across Ontario and we have to learn to live with this virus."
The announcement comes as 1,974 new COVID-19 cases were reported Wednesday, though Moore has said limits on testing mean the true number is likely 10 times higher.
Moore said masking requirements may need to return if a new variant emerges. In the meantime, he encouraged people to be kind to those who choose to continue wearing masks and said he would personally keep wearing one in a mall or busy big-box store. Moore also "strongly recommended" those who are vulnerable to keep masking.
