Ontario has announced it is removing mask mandates beginning March 21 in most settings, including schools.
The province’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Kieran Moore, says all remaining public health measures and directives will end April 27.
The province says these steps are a result of improving health indicators, such as a stable COVID-19 test positivity rate and declining hospitalizations, as well as Ontario’s high vaccination rates and the availability of antiviral treatments.
Government officials say individual organizations will still have the authority to keep their own requirements.
On April 27, all remaining mask rules will be lifted and remaining emergency orders and directives will be lifted or expire with the exception of isolation requirements, however those are also changing.
People will only need to isolate if their close contact is a household member and if they are an adult who has not received a booster dose or someone under 18 who has not received two doses.
In an email to The Grand at 101, Centre Wellington Township officials say “We follow the provincial guidelines, so when they lift the mask mandates, then we will do the same.” The Upper Grand District School Board says a Board Resolution requiring masks in schools remains however they will be providing additional information soon.
Below is the news release with additional information regarding the re-opening plan.
*NEWS RELEASE – GOVERNMENT OF ONTARIO*
TORONTO — Today, Dr. Kieran Moore, Chief Medical Officer of Health issued the following statement:
“With the peak of Omicron behind us, Ontario has been able to cautiously and gradually move through its reopening milestones.
The majority of public health and workplace safety measures have now been lifted, and key public health indicators continue to improve or remain stable.
As we continue on this path, we are able to take a more balanced and long-term approach to Ontario’s pandemic response.
With continued improvement in trends, Ontario will remove the mandatory masking requirement for most settings on March 21, with the exception of select settings such as public transit, health care settings, long-term care homes and congregate care settings.
As a society, we must remain kind, considerate and respectful toward those who continue wearing a mask. We must also expect indicators, such as cases and hospitalizations, to increase slightly as Ontarians increasingly interact with one another. However, thanks to our high vaccination rates and natural immunity, as well as the arrival of antivirals, Ontario has the tools necessary to manage the impact of the virus.
I want to thank Ontarians for their ongoing resilience and commitment to community as we navigated this global pandemic together. Your sacrifices and collective actions have made a difference.
While this does not signal that COVID-19 has disappeared or that the pandemic is over, it does mean that we have come to a place where we know what we need to do to manage this virus and to keep each other safe.
We need to remain vigilant. We need to stay home when sick. And, most importantly, we need to get vaccinated and boosted.
Vaccination is the best protection against COVID-19 and the best protection for the progress we have made.”
Learn how Ontario intends to lift the remaining public health and workplace safety measures and learn to manage COVID-19 for the long-term.
