Health officials want return to pandemic-era masking
Rachel Emmanuel
Federal health officials are once again telling Canadians to mask up indoors, while local officials are examining a return to mask mandates.
In an update on Thursday, Canada’s chief public health officer Theresa Tam said multiple layers of “protection” will be needed in the coming weeks to reduce the impact of a fall surge of COVID-19 and influenza, echoing pandemic-era comments.
“Although no individual layer of protection is perfect, when used consistently and together, vaccine plus layers can provide excellent protection against COVID-19 as well as other infectious diseases we may encounter,” Tam said.
Canada’s provinces dropped their mask mandates earlier this year. No provinces currently have a mask mandate.
But Toronto’s public health board has told Ontario’s province’s top doctor to “urgently explore” reinstating mask mandates, beginning with local schools. Dr. Kieran Moore has said a decision on masking could come within a few weeks.
Alberta is likely safe from mask mandates, as its new Premier, Danielle Smith, campaigned for the party leadership on promises to do away with COVID-19 restrictions. She recently said she won’t permit masking for kindergarten to grade 12 students.