Ontario to remove mask mandates on March 21

TORONTO (AP) — Ontario is removing mask mandates on March 21 in most settings, including schools.

The province says improving health indicators, such as a stable COVID-19 test positivity rate and declining hospitalizations, as well as Ontario’s high vaccination rates and the availability of antiviral treatments, allow for it.

Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health says individuals can make their own risk assessment.

The announcement comes as 1,974 new COVID-19 cases were reported Wednesday in the province. However Moore has said that limits on testing mean that the true number is likely 10 times that amount — or more than 19,000 cases.