More Ontario mask requirements to lift on June 11
Ontario’s top doctor has announced that most remaining COVID-19 mask mandates in the province will lift this weekend.
“With high vaccination rates and Ontario’s COVID-19 situation continuing to improve, most of the province’s remaining provincial masking requirements, including on public transit, will expire as of 12:00 a.m. on June 11, 2022,” Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore said in a statement issued Wednesday.
- Download our app to get local alerts to your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
The order was set to expire June 11, after it was extended in April. However, the Ministry of Health told CTV News Toronto earlier this week that Dr. Moore was reviewing and monitoring key indicators across the province before committing to the date.
Masks will continue to be required in long-term care and retirement homes.
Ontarians have been mostly mask free since March 21, when the requirement was lifted in public places like restaurants, gyms, and movie theatres.
Hospitalizations and case positivity rates did increase in the weeks that followed that decision – which the Ontario government said at the time was expected.
Since then, those COVID-19 metrics have significantly improved and ICU admissions related to the virus have reached a level unseen since last August.
Remaining mask directives at hospitals and other health-care spaces will also end on June 11. Those directives will be replaced by guidance issued by the health ministry for workers in those settings.
However, a number of major hospitals in Toronto have said they will keep their mandatory masking policies in place following the news.
The University Health Network (UHN), The Hospital for Sick Children, and Humber River Hospital all told CP24 that their masking requirements continue to be necessary as they care for their respective vulnerable patient populations.
Representatives for North York General Hospital and Sunnybrook Hospital also told CP24 they plan to keep their mask requirements.
Private businesses are free to implement their own masking policies in the absence of a provincewide mandate and individuals can continue to wear a mask if they so choose, the Ministry of Health said. The Ministry said it still recommends wearing a mask in higher-risk settings like shelters and group homes.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
'Tactical evacuations' underway near Fort Nelson, B.C., as wildfires encroach
The BC Wildfire Service says 'tactical evacuations' began Friday near Fort Nelson, B.C., due to an out-of-control wildfire that has grown rapidly since it was discovered earlier in the afternoon.
Snowbirds in Vancouver for puck-drop flyby as Canucks face Oilers
The Canadian Forces Snowbirds will be performing a flyover across downtown Vancouver at the start of tonight's Stanley Cup playoff game between the Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
U.S. says Israel's use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete
The Biden administration said Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.