Ontario is looking to move up timelines for reopening and discussions are under way about changes to masking rules and vaccination passports.
Ontario is looking to move up timelines for reopening and discussions are under way about changes to masking rules and vaccination passports given the “remarkable improvement” in the COVID-19 situation, says the chief medical officer of health.
But Dr. Kieran Moore said he expects that masks will continue to be required in indoor public spaces, as well as on public transit and in schools, for some time.
“The evidence is showing we’re making remarkable improvement in all of the key metrics in Ontario, and that forces us to review all public health measures that are in play,” Moore said at Queen’s Park during his weekly COVID-19 briefing.
“None of them are expected to remain in play longer than they need to be and/or have a benefit to protect Ontarians. So we are reviewing all of them in the coming days, and anticipate we’ll make recommendations to government as soon as next week.”
The province was set to ease restrictions on Feb. 21 and March 14 and “given how well Ontario has done in the Omicron wave, how well our health system is recovering, I would assume government wants and will review timelines as well as all public health measures, including when we remove proof of vaccination, when we remove masking in certain venues,” Moore said.
He also noted that schools continue to do well, with absences sitting at about 10.5 per cent on average, and with just five of 4,900 schools in the province closed.
As first reported by the Star, Moore also announced that high-contact extracurricular activities can resume immediately, although students will have to wear masks when they are on the bench during hockey and basketball games, and also before and after playing wind instruments.
Some school coaches objected to the fact that community sports — which families pay for — were already up and running but high-contact school sports were not.
“I did see the conflict to have community settings opening up and not having them available to students in the school setting,” Moore said. “I’m sorry for any delay in enabling this, but this was to ensure that we had all the safety protocols in play and that our school absenteeism rates remained relatively stable.”
Cathy Abraham, president of the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association, applauded the move to loosen restrictions on extracurricular activities. “Attending school in-person is crucial for the optimal development of the vast majority of our students and we are already seeing the positive results of this,” she said.
Local public health units are free to set further limits if they feel necessary.
School boards are turning to local health officials for guidance on when to restart activities, with details expected in the coming days.SKIP ADVERTISEMENT
“We’ll be consulting with our local public health unit to determine appropriate actions and timelines for the resumption of these activities,” said Licinio Miguelo, spokesperson for York Region District School Board. “We appreciate how important extracurricular activities are to students and will be looking to reintroduce them safely.”
Toronto District School Board spokesperson Ryan Bird said singing and playing of wind instruments has resumed this week, and “we will be working with Toronto Public Health to update guidance on high-contact sports in the days ahead.”
Peel Public Health said it will follow the provincial guidelines on extracurricular sports.
Article From: The Star
Author: Kristin Rushowy
