WDG Public Health Region may have been the first region to impose the mask mandate in Ontario, but it will not be the last to remove it.
At Wednesday’s Board of Health meeting, Dr. Nicola Mercer, medical officer of health for Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph, said she intends to align her mask mandates with the province.
“Unless there is a specific local reason why we must maintain my mask mandate, my mandate would be removed on that date (same date as the province),” said Mercer.
She said there is no state of emergency in the local region, and the COVID rates are trending in the right direction.
Last month, Premier Doug Ford announced his plans to remove masking mandates 'soon.' This week, he commented on the changes possibly coming after March Break.
“When that occurs, it is my intention to align mask orders with the province,” said Mercer.
Currently, WDG Public Health has two Section 22 class orders in effect. One is a mask order put into effect on June 20 which requires face coverings in all commercial establishments, and the other is a mask order specific to operators of driving license testing facilities to protect workers. These class orders are in addition to the provincial mask mandate.
Under Section 22 of the Health Protection and Promotion Act, a public health medical officer has the authority to issue an order to “require a person to take or to refrain from taking any action in respect of a communicable disease.”
