About 24 hours before Ontario announced its mask mandate in most settings will be lifted March 21, Lambton’s medical officer of health was asked if he thinks it’s still necessary to wear them indoors.
Dr. Sudit Ranade responded by saying his message hasn’t changed since the pandemic started two years ago: wearing masks is useful to reduce risk in situations where people are having close contact for long periods of time.
“That’s how they work best,” he said.
Sarnia-Lambton had a patchwork system of mask rules in place during the summer of 2020 before Ontario made it mandatory across the province later that fall.
But the challenge with masks, Ranade added, is most situations where people are together for long stretches are social settings.
“So they’re not wearing masks at the family gathering and hanging out together with your friends where you’re really going to spread the disease,” he said.
The province announced Wednesday it will remove mandatory masking rules in schools and most public settings the day students return from March Break, but they’ll still be required on public transit, and in long-term care homes, shelters, jails and other congregate- care facilities.
“Removing the mask mandate does not mean the risk is gone,” Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, said Wednesday during his final weekly news conference on COVID-19. “Transmission is still occurring across the province and masks can help protect you.”
Other than masks, most of Ontario’s mandates, such as the vaccine passport program and capacity limits in most public settings, were lifted March 1.
Ranade cautioned there’s a difference between open and safe.
“It doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t go do those things,” he added, but noted all social interactions carry a risk of being exposed to the virus.
“That is important to remember,” he said.
Meanwhile, the local death toll has been altered due to provincial changes in how COVID-19 fatalities are reported. After an extensive review, five deaths previously attributed to the virus on the health unit’s website were removed Monday due to the new criteria.
“There are some people who pass away with, rather than from, COVID,” said Ranade, using the example of a person brought to hospital due to major trauma who tested positive for the virus before dying due to the trauma.
The death toll as of Wednesday was 128. The latest victims of the virus were a long-term care home resident in their 90s and another person in their 60s, a spokesperson confirmed.
A Bluewater Health spokesperson said their death toll is unaffected by the changes. A total of 99 patients, including some who lived elsewhere, have died in local hospital.
The COVID-19 vaccination program is still taking place but at a reduced pace due to lower demand, Ranade said. Eighty per cent of the eligible five-plus population was fully immunized as of Wednesday and 49 per cent had three doses.
In the meantime, the health unit is trying to catch up on routine immunizations for students throughout the region who were missed amid the disruption of the two-year pandemic. Catch-up clinics for vaccines against diseases such as hepatitis B, human papillomavirus and meningitis will start during March Break and continue throughout the rest of the month, but appointments are required.
Visit GetTheVaccine.ca to for more information and to book appointments or call 226-254-8222 if assistance is required.
-with files from the London Free Press