Dropping Ontario\u2019s mask mandate on March 21 may be going too far, too soon, say Brock University experts, who are concerned with the government\u2019s decision announced Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost people rely on the message they are getting from the government and if the government is lifting so-called restrictions, it must be because things are OK,\u201d says Christine Daigle, a Philosophy Professor with the Interdisciplinary Humanities PhD program. \u201cWe know the pandemic is far from over, but for most people, the message they are getting is that things are improving and are going to continue to improve.\u201d<\/p>\n
Associate Professor of Immunology Adam MacNeil warns there is risk of doing more harm to the public through encouraging masklessness in indoor public spaces, which will increase virus transmission, without grounding the public in clear guidance around airborne transmission.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll protective measures need to be assessed in the current context,\u201d says MacNeil, who teaches Infection Control in Brock\u2019s Master of Public Health program. \u201cOur current context is very high community spread and thus lots of virus in circulation relative to previous waves.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition, he says, the current context includes a number of factors: serious risks to children under five years old who remain unvaccinated, most children five and over who are not fully vaccinated, immunocompromised individuals and the high-risk elderly; the new and more highly transmissible subvariant of Omicron (BA.2) that is moving toward dominance in Canada and elsewhere; and increasing understanding of the longer-term consequences of infection in Long COVID.<\/p>\n
Wednesday\u2019s announcement shifts responsibility to the individual, but Daigle notes that individuals can only make an informed decision if they are informed, and many may not be following COVID-19 news closely for many reasons.<\/p>\n