The province has announced plans to lift mandatory masking policies sometime by the end of the month.
On Thursday, Ontario's Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kieran Moore said health officials will continue to monitor COVID-19 health trends over the next several weeks, and if all goes well, mask mandates could be gone before the end of March.
"We can only mandate masking for so long," said Moore during a news conference. "As long as the risk is decreasing, we will make the decision together as a province to remove them, but for those at high risk for this virus, I would suggest you to continue to wear them, and that as a society we remain considerate, kind and respectful to those that decide to continue to wear them."
The news comes just two days after Ontario lifted all remaining capacity limits and proof of vaccination requirements for all settings, including restaurants, bars, gyms, and theatres.
Moore added that the province continues to track the Omicron subvariant B.A.2 in Ontario, which he said is about 30 per cent more transmissible.
"We anticipate B.A.2 being the dominant strain across Ontario by mid-March," said Moore. "We don't want to raise concern because we're not seeing any increased hospitalization from this."
Moore reiterated that vaccination continues to provide a strong benefit in preventing severe outcomes against the B.A.2 subvariant.
Also on Thursday, provincial hospitalizations hit a low not seen since late December. Ontario reported 834 people in hospitals across the province with COVID-19, with 267 in intensive care.
Approximately 93 per cent of Ontarians aged 12 and older have received one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 90.6 per cent have received two doses. Over 7 million booster shots have been administered.
