Scrapping masks a 'huge mistake:' Opposition parties call on Ford government to bring back mask mandates

Members of the opposition are urging the Ford government to re-impose mask mandates in some public spaces amid growing calls from experts to reinstate the public health measure during the sixth wave of the pandemic.

In a news release issued Thursday, Ontario Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca said mask mandates are needed in essential indoor settings, including schools, pharmacies, and grocery stores.

“With COVID case counts now skyrocketing, Ontarians deserve science, not silence from their provincial government. Doug Ford’s Conservatives must stop muzzling the Chief Medical Officer of Health and restore his regular media conferences that ended over a month ago," he said.

“Ford’s Conservatives are still planning to end all mask mandates in long-term care homes and hospitals on April 27th - this is a huge mistake. Mask mandates need to remain until this 6th wave wanes."

He called schools "ground zero” for COVID-19 spread.

“Ford and Lecce's failures have made them our weakest link in containing COVID. In addition to requiring masks to be worn, the Ford government’s lack of effort to increase our poor childhood vaccination rates needs to change," Del Duca said.

“Finally, it's also time Ontarians stopped being forced to guess if they're sick or contagious. Ontario Liberals demand that Ford Conservatives make PCR tests accessible to all Ontarians."

Del Duca’s comments were echoed by NDP Leader Andrea Horwath and Green Party Leader Mike Mike Schreiner, who both expressed support for masking in essential public spaces.

“Health care workers are exhausted, and becoming infected with COVID at an alarming rate. And every bed taken by a COVID patient is another delay for someone waiting in pain for a surgery,” Horwath said in a written statement. “It’s clear that Doug Ford dropped masks too soon, and we’re all paying the price — no one more so than the people waiting in pain for a surgery or procedure.”

While some municipalities have shifted messaging in recent weeks to encourage mask-wearing in busy indoor settings, there appears to be reluctance on the part of local mayors and medical officers of health to implement mandates on their own.

On Thursday morning, Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie said the city is not considering re-imposing additional public health measures amid a surge in COVID-19 transmission.

Speaking during a news conference, Crombie expressed "concern" about the increase in community transmission of the virus, acknowledging that Ontario is in a sixth wave of the pandemic.

But when asked whether additional public health measures should be reinstated, she said the region's medical officer of health, Dr. Lawrence Loh, does not believe intervention is necessary.

"I've spoken with Dr. Loh and we've seen a modest increase in transmission here in Peel, which was expected as we transitioned into a full reopening with most public health measures lifted," she said.

"Dr. Loh has told me, however, that Peel is continuing to experience the lowest rates of transmission in the province and we are not seeing transmission rise to the same extent that other jurisdictions in Ontario are."

She claimed that residents in Peel have increased immunity after being hit hard in other waves of the pandemic.

"Other jurisdictions in Ontario are currently experiencing spikes as they were previously not as impacted and thus have more susceptible populations,” Crombie added.

She said residents are encouraged to continue to wear masks indoors "where circumstances warrant."

Dr. Peter Jüni, the outgoing scientific director of Ontario's Science Advisory Table, told CP24 Wednesday that wastewater data indicates that Ontario is likely seeing about 100,000 new cases of the virus every day.

When asked about re-imposing masking to help create "a measure of safety" during this recent surge, Crombie suggested it would be up to the province to make that decision.

"I am concerned. I see that our rates are escalating... and we see that primarily in the indicator that you mentioned, the wastewater, as there is not as much PCR testing being done as had been done previously. But I am in constant contact with Dr. Loh and he doesn't see a need to introduce further measures at this time," she said.

"And we know that the provincial government is also monitoring the situation very closely and I know that should there be a need to move forward with restrictions that they would be the first to do so because as you would know it would make more sense to implement measures right across the province rather than solely in one jurisdiction."

When pressed on why Peel couldn't take the initiative to promote masking in all indoor public spaces, Crombie said she has always encouraged mask wearing "if people feel unsafe."

"I've been simply been advocating that from the beginning. In fact, I wanted to take a slower approach to lifting restrictions myself," she said.

While Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott has recently said that the province is "staying the course" and likely won't implement any further public health restrictions, some experts have urged the province to reconsider as cases once again spike in Ontario.

Dr. Michael Warner, the medical director of critical care at Toronto's Michael Garron Hospital, accused the government of "pretending" like the sixth wave isn't happening.

"The chief medical officer of health for the province is nowhere to be found. I think the average person in the public isn’t really sure what to do,” Warner said in a video message posted on social media Monday.

“There is no real data other than wastewater that is clearly going up but nothing is being done. There is really no incremental public health measures that can be considered reasonable. Testing is hard to find and early therapeutics are also difficult to find.”

He called on the province to re-impose mask mandates inside essential public spaces, including grocery stores and pharmacies.

“We also need access to early testing so the early therapeutics that are available can actually be provided to people in a timely manner,” he said.

Speaking to CP24 on Wednesday, Dr. Abdu Sharkawy agreed that Ontario's chief medical officer of health, who has not addressed reporters in four weeks, could help quell anxiety by making himself available for regular COVID-19 briefings.

“I think the intention may be to help calm people but unfortunately I think the reverse is happening. There is a lot of angst, there is a lot of insecurity and anxiety because people don’t really know what is going on and the wastewater signal is basically all we have to go on at this point,” he said.

“So I certainly hope that the situation changes. I think it would provide some level of confidence and some degree of grounding the situation if he were able to actually speak and let us know what his opinion is.”