Ontario will end mandatory face masks starting March 21 in most indoor places, including restaurants, stores and schools, the province’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Kieran Moore, announced. .
The chief medical officer of the province had already implied a few days ago that the lifting of the compulsory wearing of the mask would be done soon. The lifting of the restriction, however, does not apply to long-term care homes, retirement homes, as well as public transport.
Establishments will be able to continue to impose the wearing of a mask. At a press conference Wednesday morning, Prime Minister Doug Ford assured that “everyone could continue to wear a mask” if they wished. “But we have to move on,” he continued. Some establishments continue to ask customers to present their vaccination passport, even if it is no longer mandatory since March 1.
On Wednesday, Toronto’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Eileen de Villa, recommended that city council follow the province’s lead. In a report given to councillors, the doctor noted that the municipality was in a “considerably different” situation than when mask-wearing became mandatory.
“Fortunately, due to high vaccination rates and epidemiological trends, the city may consider withdrawing the bylaw,” she wrote.
88.6% of Torontonians aged 18 and older received two doses, higher than the provincial rate of about 85%. 56.7% of the adult population of the Queen City are triple vaccinated, compared to 47.5% at the provincial level. Provincially, the hospitalization rate has decreased by 81% since the peak of the wave caused by the Omicron variant.
According to the province’s plan given to reporters on Wednesday, mandatory mask-wearing will be revoked in all other indoor locations beginning April 27.
This story is supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.