COVID-19 is here to stay, but the mask order’s days are numbered, says Dr. Nicola Mercer, medical officer of health for Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health.
“I really want to lift the mask order,” Mercer told city council on Monday. “I just don’t think we’re there yet.
"That will be a big one for me to celebrate."
She urged residents to continue using public health measures such as masks, hand washing and distancing from other households, especially in light of the Ontario arrival of the OMICRON variant.
“We still have a while ahead of us as we go through the various variants,” Mercer said, suggesting the order will be lifted in the “weeks or months” ahead. “Pandemics do end. They really don’t go on forever, so this too shall pass.”
Mercer implemented the mandatory mask order for shared indoor spaces in June of 2020. Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph was the first region in the province to have such an order.
