It will be up to Ontario’s chief medical officer of health to determine when it is safe to lift the province’s pandemic mask mandate, says Premier Doug Ford.
It will be up to Ontario’s chief medical officer of health to determine when it is safe to lift the province’s pandemic mask mandate, says Premier Doug Ford.
In the wake of Dr. Kieran Moore’s announcement that the mandatory indoor mask policy will be reviewed in March, Ford stressed he would defer to “health and science.”
Speaking to reporters Friday at a campaign-style event in Whitby, the premier said he must “wait for the recommendations” from his top public health adviser.
“He’s sent recommendations in as we’re winding down and I’m going to follow his advice,” said Ford.
“We have a great plan. We’re going to follow that plan. We’re going to do it cautiously and move forward cautiously,” he said, claiming he has “been accused of being the most cautious leader in North America when it comes to this pandemic.”
That’s apparently a reference to the fact Ontario has faced longer COVID-19 lockdowns that any other province or U.S. state and its students have missed more in-person classes than anywhere on the continent.
But the province has fared better in terms of deaths per capita than any of its neighbours.
Ontario, with a population of 14.8 million, has lost 12,204 people to COVID-19. Quebec, home to 8.5 million, has suffered 13,812 deaths. Similarly, Manitoba, with 1.4 million people, has had 1,647 COVID-19 victims.
South of the border, New York, with 20.2 million people, has had 66,224 deaths while Michigan, with a population of 10 million, has lost 33,832 people.
“I’m going to continue being cautious, but we also have to move forward. We have to get back to normal. We have to get our lives back to normal as well,” said Ford.
On Thursday, Moore said “the worst is behind us, but there is an ongoing risk,” so masks will be required for a while longer.
“We’ll be reviewing masking in public on the second or third week of March and make decisions for all public spaces, including schools in that time frame,” the top doctor said.SKIP ADVERTISEMENT
“If and when we transition, it would be from … a mandate to mask to a recommendation to mask. I would certainly hope that vulnerable members of our community that are at risk for this virus, that are immune suppressed or transplant patients in public spaces would continue to mask,” he said.
“And we may review masking for public spaces like in transport systems like subways and buses, etc., to ensure that everyone’s confident to use those resources.”
Masks that cover the mouth and nose have been mandatory in nearly all indoor settings — outside private homes — in most of Ontario since July 2020, four months after COVID-19 hit.
They must be worn in workplaces and public spaces such as shops, hotel lobbies, indoor stadiums, theatres, public transit, taxis and when walking around bars restaurants and bars.
Article From: The Star
Author: Robert Benzie
