Pearson Airport Will Continue To Require Masks Once Provincial Mandate Is Lifted

Ontario’s mask mandate for most indoor settings is set to expire on March 21, but Pearson International Airport will not be among them.

In a statement made available to The Drum Online, Pearson confirmed that passengers will be required to wear a mask at the airport at all times as the travel hub is federally regulated.

Provincial masking requirements will remain in place for public transit, long-term care, retirement homes and other health-care settings, congregate care settings, shelters, jails and homes for individuals with developmental disabilities. The province says mask rules for all remaining settings will come to an end on Apr. 27.

The City of Toronto is also looking to lift mask mandates at the same time as the province to avoid any confusion or a situation where people have to follow two sets of rules.

While Brampton mayor Patrick Brown called the lifting of masking rules “positive news,” Mississauga mayor Bonnie Crombie expressed concerns about it being a little too soon.

Toronto’s medical officer of health, Dr. Eileen de Villa, echoed Crombie’s comments that lifting the mask mandates does not mean they should not continue to be worn in high-risk or crowded indoor settings.

“Some people will still need to wear them because of their health,” de Villa said during the city’s COVID update on Thursday. “Some people will choose to wear them because they feel more comfortable doing so. I absolutely recommend the use of well-fitted, high quality masks particularly for those at higher risk and particularly in indoor crowded settings and as we monitor the level of COVID in the city and adapt to living like we used to, but with COVID as a fact of life.”