Ontario's top doc urges masking but won't bring back mandate

Toronto Sun: 'Dr. Kieran Moore added that while the province has dropped its broad masking mandate, public health officials are considering keeping the masking requirement for hospitals and long-term care (LTC) homes in place beyond the current deadline of April 27.

'An estimated 5.3 million to 6 million Ontario residents — more than one-third of the population — have already had Omicron variant, he said.

'“It is clear that we are in the sixth wave of this pandemic driven by the BA.2 variant,” Moore said Monday in his first public update on COVID-19 since March. “In the last few weeks, we have seen an increase in the percent positivity, an upward trend in wastewater surveillance, and a rise in hospitalizations.”'