On March 21, 2022, Ontario will be the next province to remove its mask mandate, following suit with Manitoba, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Alberta to name a few.
Masks will be no longer required to be worn in most indoor public settings, which includes schools and child care.
The Kenora Catholic District School Board (KCDSB) announced on March 10, 2022, they will be removing its mandatory mask mandate.
Following the March break students, staff, and visitors will no longer be required to wear masks but will continue to be respected as a personal choice.
The KCDSB says cohorting or distancing indoors and outdoors will no longer be required, assemblies and field trips are permitted, and graduation ceremonies will take place in June.
Students and staff will still be required to self-screen before attending school, personal protective equipment such as masks and eye protection will be available until the end of the school year, and hand hygiene, improved ventilation ad enhanced cleaning practices will continue.
Rapid tests will continue to be available at all KCDSB schools for symptomatic testing.
Masks will remain in hospitals, long-term care homes, congregate care settings, and public transit. But these settings will all be able to remove their mask mandates by April 27, 2022.
Though masks are gone on Monday some school boards across the province have raised concerns towards the provincial government about the reasoning behind removing masks in schools.
Premier Doug Ford answered those questions on Tuesday (March 15, 2022) at a press conference in Brampton, ON.
“Let me be very clear to the school boards, they aren’t medical experts,” said Ford.“ The Chief Medical Officer is the expert, and he has done his do-diligence, and he has consulted.”
“Our expectations to the school boards and to the exception to the parents that want their kids to put masks on, follow the direction of the Chief Medical Officer, that’s what we expect,” added Ford.
The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) wrote a letter to the Ministry of Education asking for more time to remove COVID-19 measures in their schools.
Trustees at the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) said the decision felt rushed to remove masks.
Scientific Director of Ontario’s COVID-19 Science Advisory Table, Dr. Peter Juni, has said removing masks in Ontario is ‘too early’, and noted the table’s members were not consulted prior to Ontario’s decision.
Meanwhile, the Children’s Mental Health Ontario organization, which operates across the province and within the region, is still encouraging all students and staff to keep masking in schools despite Ontario’s new recommendations, and if COVID-19 outbreaks were to return, masks could as well.
“Since we know that most cases of COVID-19 identified in schools originate outside of school, we would have preferred to see masks kept in place for two weeks after March Break so we could have assessed the impact of the broader re-opening of Ontario,” said the CMHO, in a prepared statement.
“Masks remain an important layer of protection as the pandemic continues and may be needed in communities with low vaccination rates and where there is a surge in cases. Masks also protect those most vulnerable, including high-risk, immunocompromised, and fragile children.”
Ontario was among many provinces to either announce or already have lifted their mask mandate.
Saskatchewan was the first province to ax their mask mandate along with all remaining public health orders on the morning of February 28, 2022. Alberta was right behind Saskatchewan ending their mask mandate a day later on March 1, 2022.
British Columbia followed suit and ended its mask mandate on March 11, 2022, just a day after being announced.
Quebec lifted its mask mandates in schools on Monday (March 14, 2022), with plans to eventually remove all remaining mask mandates at a later date.
Like Quebec, New Brunswick lifted its mask mandate for indoor public settings on Monday as well (March 14, 2022); a plan that Newfoundland and Labrador are expected to follow.
Tuesday (March 15, 2022), marked the day for the province of Manitoba to end its mask requirements and all other restrictions, with the exception of masking in long-term care homes.
Yukon will be scrapping their mask mandate along with proof of vaccination starting on March 18, 2022.
The province of Nova Scotia will be lifting all COVID-19 restrictions on March 21, 2022.
There is still no word on when Prince Edward Island will remove all its public health measures. The province will move into Step 2 of its Moving On plan Thursday (March 14, 2022).
If public health indicators allow them to, on April 11, 2022, the province of Nunavut will lift their mask mandate, isolation requirements, and their public health emergency.