Toronto's Beck Taxi to keep masking mandate in place
As rideshare programs plan to lift mask mandates in the coming days, a Toronto taxi company has decided to keep theirs in place.
Beck Taxi tweeted that they would keep their mask mandate to protect their staff and customers.
“We know that many, including the most vulnerable, rely on the safety and security of for-hire services like ours and drivers depend on us to make informed decisions when it comes to masking policies,” Beck said in a statement they tweeted.
“We will continue, as we do know that the inside of a vehicle does not allow 6 feet of distance between riders and drivers which makes it a high-risk setting, to require masks on everyone inside a Beck vehicle.”
- You might also like:
- Uber to drop mask mandate for drivers and riders starting Friday
- Ontario may keep remaining mask mandates in place as province hits sixth COVID-19 wave
- Public Health Ontario calls for the return of universal masking in new risk assessment
OUR STATEMENT REGARDING MASKING IN BECK VEHICLES: pic.twitter.com/opaqRvHmf9
— Beck Taxi (@BeckTaxi) April 19, 2022
The news comes as ride shares like Uber move to end mask mandates this month. However, in Ontario, masks are still required in high risk settings, such as long-term care homes, on public transit and in congregate living settings. This mask mandate remains in place until April 27.
Both the chief medical officer of health, and Premier Doug Ford have indicated that the mask mandate may be extended beyond April 27. It is not clear when the province will provide an update on the guidance.