Quebec will officially lift its mandate for an indoor mask on May 14th, the province’s interim director of public health announced on Wednesday.
Dr Luc Boalo said hospitalizations and staff absences were declining, which was the basis for his recommendation. The Quebec government then accepted his proposal to end his term.
“The whole portrait is getting better,” he said.
However, he said masks would still be needed in health facilities, where vulnerable groups could potentially be exposed, and in public transport, as it was more difficult to keep a minimum distance between passengers.
On the other hand, primary and secondary schools will be allowed to throw masks. Students will no longer be required to wear a mask for any of their activities, whether in the classroom, cafes or walking the hallways. The same applies to the teaching staff.
Wearing a mask will also be optional in school transportation, given that students will have spent the entire day together, Boalo said.
“It would not be logical for camouflage to become mandatory [in school buses],” he said.
Boileau clarified that masks are still recommended in certain situations, including when you have any symptoms, saying “you don’t have to be sure it’s COVID” to wear a mask and be careful.
The mandatory mandate for masks in the province has been in force since July 2020, for a total of 21 consecutive months, and will be the last province to require masks in most indoor spaces.
Prince Edward Island, the only other province still in office, revoked its order on Friday (May 6th).
Experts call for caution in unmasking
However, some believe that the province should take the time and not move to revoke the mask’s mandate so soon.
Dr Matthew Otten, a specialist in infectious diseases at the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal, said the masks worked not only against COVID-19, but also against the flu, which is widespread in the province.
The combination of the two puts additional pressure on hospitals in the province, he said.
“[Influenza] it is really emerging and facing a health care system that has already been and continues to be under significant pressure, “he told CBC Montreal’s Daybreak.
“Why don’t we give our hospitals all the benefits we can while we’re still trying to regain some balance?”
Auton suggested the government maintain the mandate every week.
But Simon Bacon, a professor of behavioral medicine at Concordia University, said many were disappointed with the mask’s mandate, in part because they didn’t understand why it was still mandatory.
“People really have no idea why they have to do this,” he said. “Obviously we know the pandemic is there, but on the one hand the government says we will keep these measures in certain places. On the other hand, they are getting rid of everything.”
“There is this contradiction on a global scale,” he said.
Bacon said there would likely be some “tension” between those who choose to continue wearing masks and those who do not, but suggested that peer pressure at the community level is likely to set the norm.
For example, in schools, he said that the “social norm of a particular classroom” seems to determine whether children wear their masks or not.
“What will invariably happen is that many people will start not responding to what is happening around them,” he said.
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