Masks are still popular in indoor spaces in Toronto, a week after the lifting of the provincial regulation on mandatory wearing in several public places. Some companies have even decided to continue to impose it on their customers, who do not see any inconvenience for the moment.
On Bloor Street, a commercial axis that crosses the Queen City from east to west, a high proportion of customers are masked, traders testify. “90% of people wear them,” observes Liza Lukashevsky, the owner of the Nut House grocery store. Some people don’t wear it, but make sure to give others enough space, says the entrepreneur. “I’m proud to see how people behave,” she continues.
Since March 21, in Ontario, the mask is only mandatory in hospitals, public transport and long-term care homes, while it is still in Quebec. The number of COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized increased by almost 20% between the 21st and 28th, from 551 to 655. In intensive care, however, this number decreased by approximately 12% in one week. .
At Bar Neon, around 95% of customers are masked when entering the bar, says bartender Eric Bates-Mcleod. On the other side of the street, Bart Harnett masks himself when he sees the journalist from the Homework open the door to your business, Zoinks Music & Books bookstore. “I don’t mind if customers wear it or not,” says the bookseller. Eight out of 10 people do, he estimates.
On Monday afternoon, at the Dufferin Mall, about 60% of customers cover their faces while shopping. Outside, Elsa Enes is about to enter mask on her nose. “I was very sick with COVID two months ago,” she testifies to justify her decision. “I don’t like it when other people don’t wear it inside,” she says. A few months ago, Bruna Neves often forgot her mask in the car before entering an indoor public place. For the past week, it’s been the opposite scenario. “I forget that I no longer need to wear it,” explains the Torontonian at the exit of the mall.
Interpretation of rules
York University professor Eric Kennedy analyzes the social effects of COVID-19 since 2020 by surveying the Canadian population. One of the most recent questions posed to Canadians by the academic and his team in 2022 concerned the decision to wear the mask. Although launched in March, before the mandatory mask regulations were lifted in Ontario, the survey gave the professor some food for thought.
“Many people’s perception is that nothing really magically changed on March 21, when the rule was lifted,” says Kennedy. “A lot of people look at these changes and think it was politically driven,” he says. Announcing his decision to lift the regulation on March 9, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr.r Kieran Moore, assured that the decision was not political.
According to Eric Kennedy, public opinion on the adequacy of regulations has evolved over the past few months. The population previously interpreted public health directives as the opinion of experts in the field, “but there is now a disconnect” with this interpretation, suggests the sociologist. “A lot of people still recognize that there are important reasons for wearing a mask,” thinks the DD Susy Hota, infectious disease specialist at the University Health Network in Toronto.
Free choice
Provincial regulations or not, some companies impose their own measures customers or their employees. Inspired by the time slots reserved for vulnerable people at the start of the pandemic, Liza Lukashevsky requires the wearing of a mask at the Nut House store between 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m., Monday to Friday. At both branches of the Red Rocket cafe, owner Billy Dertilis is forcing baristas and patrons to wear masks. “The vast majority of people are more comfortable that way,” explains the owner.
According to business law experts, small businesses are allowed to do this. “I don’t see a problem with that, unless the person has a disability,” comments Toronto lawyer Jonathan Kleiman. “Companies have the right to adopt regulations so as to create a safe environment for their team and their customers,” assesses University of Toronto management professor Richard Powers. Such measures will eventually be challenged in court, but these initiatives will end in failure, he predicts.
By then, however, the presence of the mask could have faded further. “If we don’t see a big increase in the number of cases and people don’t recognize the risks associated [à leurs activités quotidiennes]they might feel comfortable leaving the mask behind,” says Dr.D Susy Hota. Peer pressure — “like on the elementary school playground,” Eric Kennedy illustrates — could cause more and more people to pull it off.
This scenario is playing out in high schools across the province, confirms Karen Littlewood, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation. In the days after the rule was lifted, “students came with the intention of wearing their masks, but when they see that others aren’t wearing them, they take them off,” she said. “It takes strength to say, ‘I’m going to keep wearing it'”
This story is supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.