Ontario opposition parties call for masking rules, PCR access to be reinstated

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath is calling for the government to either reinstate mandatory masking in public places or explain why they won't.

TORONTO — Ontario’s two main opposition parties are calling for the government to reinstate or continue several public health measures, such as mandatory masking, in order to blunt the sixth wave of COVID-19.

Hospitalizations are up 40 per cent week over week and wastewater surveillance suggests COVID-19 activity is higher than it was at the peak of the fifth wave in January.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath is calling for the government to either reinstate mandatory masking in public places or explain why they won’t.

She also says masks should be required in schools and the mandate should not be lifted for hospitals, long-term care homes and public transit on April 27 as planned.

Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca also says ending mask mandates in those places on April 27 is a “huge mistake” and masks should be required again in essential indoor settings such as schools, pharmacies and grocery stores.

Both Horwath and Del Duca are also urging the government to broadly expand access to PCR testing so people know for sure when they are sick or contagious.

Meanwhile, Ontarians aged 60 and older can start booking appointments for a fourth dose of a COVID-19 vaccine today.

First Nations, Inuit and Metis individuals and their non-Indigenous household members aged 18 and above are also eligible to start booking those shots today.