It is November 11, 2022. Only a few weeks away from the year 2023, but in Canada, we're stuck in 2019.
This week, Ontario Premier Doug Ford encouraged people to start wearing masks again.
During an announcement completely unrelated to COVID-19, Ford felt the need to share his two cents:
We said from day one, I'll always listen to Dr. Moore's advice and the advice he's giving everyone, I'll give them the same thing; wear a mask when you can when you're within risk.
He didn't say if he's bringing back a mask mandate, but this is how it always starts, isn't it?
The University of Waterloo already brought back masks this week. University leaders wrote a message to students:
Recently, we have seen increases in local COVID-19 hospitalizations, and there are emerging trends from test positivity and wastewater that suggest increasing levels of COVID in the community now and in the near future.
These trends mean we need to act now to minimize disruption to the end-of-term exam season and to protect the most vulnerable people in our community.
Several Toronto schools have also flirted with the idea of bringing back masks.
Humber College, York University, and Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) – formally known as Ryerson University, but that was racist somehow, so they had to go ahead and cancel themselves – have all come out indicating their willingness to reinstate masking policies.
TMU said:
The university may reinstate requirements for vaccinations and masks in indoor settings should public health recommendations change.
Humber commented:
As we have throughout the pandemic, we will continue to follow the direction of public health and may adjust our approach as things continue to evolve.
What is even sadder is that some Canadian schools never even got rid of masks in the first place!
Seneca College and OCAD University have kept their mask mandate from the start because we are obviously living in a simulation, and we can't get past this level.
That is the only logical explanation.
The fear-mongering came back like clockwork, just in time for flu season!
Canada just can't seem to move on. Some of us never let go of our masks in the first place, and others are about to get bullied back into wearing them.
