Chatham-Kent’s top doctor isn’t terribly concerned with more indication Ontario’s mask mandates could be lifted in the next few weeks or so.
As with his stance in the early days of the pandemic, Chatham-Kent Medical Officer Dr. David Colby says masks are mainly a public service to protect others.
“Medical grade masks really are more a source control than protection, they’re a little bit protective, but it’s not like wearing full personal protective equipment,” Colby says.
Even with rising cases of COVID-19 across Ontario and spread of the new BA.2 subvariant, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kieran Moore has suggested provincial mask mandates will be lifted by the end of March.
Colby says the main factor when it comes to contracting COVID-19 isn’t who is wearing a mask, it’s minimizing exposure time.
“We’ve never seen people catching COVID by patronizing stores, for example, because even if somebody is infectious that is shopping there, the time that you spend close to them is so minimal that you can’t really get an infectious dose.”
Chatham-Kent Council agreed back in November, 2021 the municipal mask bylaw would expire once the provincial mandate was ended.
Colby says he has no intention of imposing another local mandate when provincial restrictions are lifted.