Here’s where masking in Toronto is still required

A couple walk past an inspirational mural in Toronto during the COVID-19 pandemic on Tuesday May 25, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

The provincial government has now lifted mask mandates in almost all settings but there are a number of places where people are still required to mask up, regardless of the changes.

Some of the places are settings where there tend to be many high-risk individuals, while others are simply smaller, crowded spaces where it is tough to distance.

The province extended the mask mandate for many settings amid a sixth wave of the virus in the spring, but Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore told CP24 this week that “we're in a safer position” now, meaning that most of the mandates can be dropped.

Still, not everyone agrees. Dr. Fahad Razak, the new scientific director of Ontario's COVID-19 science advisory table, has said that he would have liked to see the remaining mask mandates extended to protect high-risk settings and individuals. Many other doctors have expressed a similar sentiment.

“So whether removing the mask requirement on some final sectors like transit, and hospitals, and long-term care, whether that will have an effect or will cause harm, we just don't have the data to demonstrate yes or no to that question,” Razak said. “So it becomes a judgment call.”

With that in mind, a number of settings are making their own decisions about whether to continue masking policies. Here’s what a few places have decided and how they’re thinking about the issue.

HOSPITALS

Most GTA hospitals have said that their mask mandates will remain in effect for the time being. They include University Health Network hospitals such as Toronto General and Princess Margaret, as well as others such as Mount Sinai, St. Mike’s, North York General, Humber River and Southlake Regional Health Centre.

Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) also said its masking policy will continue.

“SickKids has a uniquely vulnerable patient population as not all of our patients are eligible for vaccination, and many are immunocompromised, which puts them at higher risk for severe outcomes due to COVID-19 than children in the community,” the hospital said. “For those reasons, we continue to take a cautious approach with our safety measures and we will continue to require universal masking past June 11.”

Scarborough Health Network also said there will be no change in their policy.

“There will be no change in the requirement for universal masking of staff, patients, visitors/essential care partners, contractors/vendors at Scarborough Health Network,” a spokesperson told CP24.com. “We will continue to follow the Toronto Region-IPAC recommendations and Toronto Region-Hospital Operational guidance from the COVID-19 Toronto Region-Hospital Operations Table.”

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SOME THEATRES

Mirvish Productions has said that all visitors and staff will still be required to wear a mask that fully covers the nose, mouth and chin at their theatres. The company, which suffered from lengthy shutdowns during the height of the pandemic, updated its policy on May 30 and said it will remain in place “until further notice.”

“Our work is totally dependent on strangers gathering in an indoor space, shoulder to shoulder watching the show for a couple of hours,” explains Director of Communications and Programming John Karastamatis. “So, we do feel an obligation to the safety of the audience. And we think that wearing a mask for the time being is not an awful inconvenience. It's an inconvenience, but it's not an awful inconvenience.”

He acknowledges that many Mirvish patrons are older and have expressed concern that they feel vulnerable coming to the theatre without any safeguards in place.

But the theatre tells people about the policy when they book their tickets and most people, he says, have not made a fuss about it.

Karastamatis also points out that while performers are not masked onstage for obvious reasons, everyone is masked when they are offstage, as keeping the cast and crew healthy is a priority.

While movie theatres and sports arenas have opted to ditch masking, Karastamatis says health advice has changed so frequently over the course of the pandemic, that Mirvish feels more comfortable playing it safe for a little while longer until there is a clearer picture.

“I don't think we have clarity yet as to what our audience feel safe with and what actually is safe,” he says.

TRANSIT

While the TTC will no longer officially require most riders to mask up, masking is still strongly recommended by the agency and people will still need to mask on Wheel-Trans, where there are a higher number of vulnerable riders.

“The TTC will continue to strongly recommend mask use,” TTC spokesperson Stuart Green told CP24. “It will be optional, of course, for both employees and our customers, with the exception of Wheel-Trans. A masking mandate will continue on Wheel-Trans and that was a decision made in conjunction with our advisory committee on accessible transit.”

Masks are now optional on GO Transit and UP Express.

“As we have done throughout the pandemic, Metrolinx will follow the advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health,” Metrolinx Spokesperson Ann Marie Aikins told CP24.com. “As of June 11, masks are no longer required on GO and UP Express.”

In a further interview, Aikins told CP24 that while masks will be optional, Metrolinx knows many customers will want to continue using them.

“We expect customers will still choose the option to wear a mask and we'll see some of that because that's what they feel comfortable with and we'll see customers without and what we ask of all of our customers is just to respect each other's personal circumstances and choices,” she said.

Read more on this here.

LONG-TERM CARE AND RETIREMENT HOMES

While Ontario is sticking to the June 11 date for lifting most mask mandates, the province is still requiring that masks be worn in long-term care homes and retirement homes.

Masking is also being “recommended” by the province in higher-risk congregate living settings, such as shelters and group homes.

SHELTERS

The City of Toronto has said that mandatory masking will continue at shelters, 24-hour respite and 24-hour women’s drop-in sites.

“All screening, testing and infection prevention and control measures also continue to be maintained in shelter settings,” the city said in a release.