Ontarians Will Still Need To Wear Masks After Step 3 But Here's What Will Be Lifted

While there is still no official date set for when Ontario will move out of step three of the Roadmap to Reopen, the provincial government has already outlined what rules and restrictions will be put in place.

Once the province leaves this step, the minister of health's office told Narcity that most of the public health measures that are currently put in place will be lifted -- and that is including capacity limits.

"Only a small number of measures will remain in place, including the requirement for passive screening, such as posting a sign, and businesses requiring a safety plan," a spokesperson for Minister of Health Christine Elliott wrote.

However, the government also revealed that wearing masks, regardless if you are vaccinated or not, will still be mandatory in some settings.

"As the Delta variant is the dominant strain in Ontario, which is not the case with some other provinces, face coverings will also continue to be required for indoor public settings," read the statement.

"This is consistent with other jurisdictions such as Quebec and Israel, and the CDC recently updated their recommendation that fully vaccinated people begin wearing masks indoors again in locations with high COVID-19 transmission rates. The Chief Medical Officer of Health will continue to evaluate this need on an ongoing basis."

Some provinces, including Alberta, Saskatchewan, and P.E.I., have already lifted their masking protocols for most indoor settings.

During a press conference on July 30, Premier Ford said that he wants to reach the province's vaccination targets before ending step three, and that will still take about a couple more weeks.

Ontario is looking for 80% of eligible residents to have received their first dose and 75% to have their second. No public health units across the province can have less than 70% of fully vaccinated individuals. The province has already met its first vaccine goal so far.