Ontario’s chief medical officer of health says the province won’t mandate masks, though he is “strongly recommending” residents to wear masks indoors amid the onset of a combination of three respiratory viruses.
“In response to the worsening trends and existing challenges for our healthcare system, I’m strongly recommending that all Ontarians, not just those at high risk, wear a mask in indoor public settings, especially around our most vulnerable Ontarians— the very young and very old,” Moore said.
Moore, however, is not reintroducing mask mandates, noting that many of the children being admitted to hospitals are very young—aged four and under—and cannot tolerate wearing masks. He urged “everyone around them” such as parents, siblings, and grandparents to instead wear a mask.
“The higher the number of social contacts, the higher the risk as we go indoors for this very social time of the year,” he said.
Moore said while masking at a broader population level might help reduce illness in the community, the greatest risk to children right now is in social settings, where it is hard to mandate behaviour.
“Yes, masking at a population level will help, but we really have to focus where we can protect our children,” he said.
When asked if he will recommend the government allow school boards to implement their own mandatory masking policies, Moore said he has no jurisdiction over the school boards, but said they can consult local medical officers in regard to local-level public health situations.
Moore said Ontario’s health system is facing “extraordinary pressures” with the circulation of three respiratory viruses. Seasonal influenza activity is fully underway with the percentage of respiratory tests that are positive now at 14.5 percent, rising from 10.3 percent a week ago.
The positivity rate for RSV is currently at 6.4 percent in Ontario, but Moore said the percentage has been on the rise over several weeks. COVID-19 percent positivity, by contrast, has decreased, but still has a positivity rate of 14.2 percent.
