Ontario's Top Doctor Says Mask Mandates Could Lift By The End Of This Month

You might not have to carry around a face covering for much longer. Ontario's top doctor has announced that the masking mandate for the province could lift by the end of March.

In a press conference on Thursday, Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario's chief medical officer of health, confirmed that masking could soon be a thing of the past if trends don't get worse.

"Because the trends look so good, we can anticipate, if the trends continue, removing mandatory masking by the end of March."

"We are removing measures because of the high vaccination rate," Moore continued. "That does not mean that the virus isn't going to try to continue to circulate. There will be an ongoing risk in the coming weeks and months."

"The risk remains, but it's at a much lower rate. I do believe the highest risk is behind us."

Last week, Moore also hinted that masking mandates will be lifted at the same time for both schools and other public settings.

"We do anticipate that if we remove it in the public sector, we would do it simultaneously for the schools," he said.

GTA doctors, such as Peel Region Medical Officer of Health Dr. Lawrence Loh, seem to echo the same reasoning.

In a press conference, Loh shared that "if our trends were to remain the same at the time that the local masking bylaws are up for review at the end of March, I would likely not recommend the extension of them at the end of March."

A spokesperson for Premier Doug Ford's office has told Narcity that Moore will be "reviewing the masking mandate in the coming weeks and provide an update after that."

Health Canada has a robust website with all the latest information on COVID-19 vaccines and can answer any questions you may have.