Mask mandates were lifted for most settings last month, and despite the rise in COVID-19 cases, health officials say there isn't a need for mask mandates to be reinstated in Ontario.
In a video captured by CityNews on April 5, Minister of Health Christine Elliott confirmed to reporters at Queen's Park that masks don't need to be brought back, according to advice from Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario's chief medical officer of health.
"Dr. Moore has indicated that we don't need to bring back the mask mandate, and he has said in the past that we should have expected that the numbers would go up as we open up Ontario," said Elliott.
Elliott says, despite the spike in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, "Ontario is in a very good place, and we will be able to get through this."
Regarding increasing hospitalizations, Elliott says it's "not unanticipated that this would happen."
"This is something that, when you're opening up the province to the degree that we have and with the transmissibility of this virus, that we expected to see the numbers increase. But we have over 3,100 extra beds. We have the capacity."
Elliott went on to say that she continues to wear a mask in public spaces and that those who decide to remain wearing a mask in public should be treated kindly as the decision to wear or not wear one is a "personal choice."
The government of Ontario reported 3,444 new cases of COVID-19 on April 6 — a huge jump from the 1,991 new cases reported the previous day.
As of April 6, there are 1,074 people actively hospitalized with COVID-19, and 168 people are in the ICU due to COVID-19-related illness.
