Ontario to keep COVID-19 mask mandates on public transit, high-risk settings

Ontario will be extending its COVID-19 mask mandate in high-risk settings as hospitalizations and ICU admissions rebound.

The Province had originally planned to end all COVID-19 public health measures on April 27. This would have seen mask mandates removed in long-term care homes, health care settings, public transit, and congregate living settings.

The mask mandate will be extended until at least June 11.

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“To protect our progress in managing this latest wave, I am maintaining masking requirements in specific public settings where individuals who are, or may be, at increased risk of severe outcomes, are in close contact for extended periods of time,” Dr. Kieran Moore, Chief Medical Officer of Health, said in a statement.

Since ending mandates for masking in public indoor settings, cases in the province have rebounded. Modelling released by the COVID-19 Science Advisory Table last week indicated that Ontario’s sixth wave has peaked, but hospitalizations and ICU admissions will continue to climb in the coming weeks.