Ontario's mask mandate has ended in most places. Here's where you still need one
COVID-19 mask requirements in Ontario will lift in most indoor settings on Monday.
Starting March 21, many of the settings in which Ontario residents have had to wear masks for the last two years will no longer require them.
The government said individuals can continue to wear a mask after that date if they choose to do so.
Here’s where you will be allowed to remove your mask as of March 21:
- Schools
- Restaurants
- Bars
- Grocery stores
- Banks
- Gyms
- Movie theatres
- Pharmacies
- Convenience stores
- Libraries
Here’s where you will need to continue wearing your mask as of March 21:
- Public transit
- Hospitals
- Medical clinics
- Long-term care homes
- Congregate care settings, such as shelters and jails
The government originally said that mask mandates in the latter category would lift on April 27, effectively putting an end to the requirement across the province. However, the province has since extended the measure to June 11.
At a separate news conference Wednesday, Premier Doug Ford said that the choice to wear a mask beyond March 21 will be a personal one.
“It's going to be up to the people of Ontario, if you want to keep the mask on, keep it on,” Ford said. “If you want to take it off, take it off. But we have to move forward from this, people are exhausted and the poor kids in those classrooms too. Like we got to move on.”
The Ministry of Health has also said organizations are welcome to keep mandatory masking policies in place if they so choose.
On March 14, mandatory vaccination policies for employees at schools, child-care settings, hospitals and long-term care homes will also come to an end.
With files from Phil Tsekouras.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Serial sexual offender linked to unsolved 1970s homicides of four Calgary girls, women
An investigation into unsolved historical homicides from the 1970s has linked the deaths of two girls and two young women in and around Calgary to a now-deceased serial offender.
Woman with liver failure rejected for a transplant after medical review highlights alcohol use
For nearly three months, Amanda Huska has been in an Ontario hospital, part of it on life support, because of severe liver failure. Her history of alcohol use is getting in the way of her only potential treatment: a liver transplant.
Dabney Coleman, actor who specialized in curmudgeons, dies at 92
Dabney Coleman, the mustachioed character actor who specialized in smarmy villains like the chauvinist boss in '9 to 5' and the nasty TV director in 'Tootsie,' has died. He was 92.
BREAKING Craig Berube named as next head coach of Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have named Craig Berube as their new head coach.
Person charged in random assault on actor Steve Buscemi in New York
A person wanted in connection with the random assault on actor Steve Buscemi on a New York City street earlier this month was taken into custody Friday, police said.
B.C. man 'attacked suddenly' by adult grizzly near Alberta boundary: RCMP
A B.C. man is recovering from multiple injuries after he was "attacked suddenly" by an adult grizzly bear near Elkford Thursday afternoon.
Australia's richest woman seeks removal of her portrait from exhibition
Art is subjective. And while many artists long to share their work with the world, there's no guarantee that the audience will understand it, or even like it.
Video appears to show Sean 'Diddy' Combs beating singer Cassie in hotel hallway in 2016
Security video aired by CNN appears to show Sean 'Diddy' Combs physically assaulting singer Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in 2016.
A look back at Alberta's record-breaking wildfire season
By the end of the 2023 wildfire season in Alberta, 1,088 wildfires had burned more than 2.2 million hectares of land, and this year, the wildfire season is already in full swing.