It’s been 586 days.
That’s how long northwestern Ontario residents have been ordered to wear a mask in indoor public settings, with the directive being issued by the Northwestern Health Unit back on August 12 of 2020.
One year, seven months and nine days later, mask mandates in most indoor public settings have ended in Ontario as of this morning. Provincially, the mask mandate issued across Ontario on October 3, 2020, was in effect for a total of 534 days.
“I think all Canadians are pretty damn tired of two years of this pandemic, and are eager to get back to normal as much as possible,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in a virtual press conference last week.
Masks will remain in hospitals, long-term care homes, congregate care settings and on public transit. But these settings will all be able to remove their mask mandates by April 27, after a total of 623 days.
“I’m pleased to see the mandates being lifted here in Ontario,” said Kenora MP Eric Melillo, in an interview with Q104 and KenoraOnline.
“Of course, it doesn’t mean that COVID-19 is gone, but rather we can manage it without the type of restrictions that we’ve been seeing,” adds Melillo. “More than anything, it’s important that we all respect each other’s decisions. We all have different personal circumstances and comfort levels. Please be mindful of that.”
Melillo stresses that businesses do still have the right to enforce mandatory masking if they choose to, in the hopes of protecting their staff and their visitors.
As well, the NWHU is still recommending residents wear their masks, as they say the region’s case rate of 294.3 per 100,000 is the highest in the province, far surpassing Ontario’s average of 75 cases per 100,000 people.
“Evidence shows that masking provides an additional layer of protection and is effective in preventing the spread of COVID-19,” says Dr. Young Hoon, Medical Officer of Health at NWHU.
“One should consider the benefits of masking and the higher risk in our region when making the decision on whether to wear a mask in indoor public settings,” she says.
Ontario’s COVID-19 Science Advisory table also says even though mask requirements are ending across most of the country, they’re still a useful tool to protect yourself and others, and those who feel most comfortable wearing a mask and those who are considered the most at-risk should continue wearing masks as they see fit.
In a recent study of over 500 people, a cloth mask helped lower the odds of testing positive for COVID-19 by 56 per cent, a surgical mask reduced your risk by 66 per cent, while an N95 mask lowered your odds by 83 per cent.
They’re also recommending that the province should be prepared to reinstate mask mandates, mass vaccination clinics and vaccine passports, if the new BA.2 variant of COVID-19 continues to spread.
Prince Edward Island, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut are the last jurisdictions in Canada to keep their mask mandates in place. Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alberta, British Columbia, Quebec, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, the Yukon and Nova Scotia have all ended theirs.