When will Canadians be able to take off their masks and travel?
Canadians can't wait to get back to normal, especially when restrictions are lifted in the U.S.
On 27 April, US President Joe Biden announced that fully vaccinated Americans may not wear masks when they are outdoors or attending a small gathering. As of May 4, 40% of the U.S. population was fully vaccinated. When will it be Canada's turn? After all, millions of new doses of vaccines are due to enter the country this month.
Doug Manuel, a senior researcher at City Hospital Ottawa who is modelling the spread of COVID-19, says getting rid of the masks requires that there is a low probability of transmission in the community, and that can be achieved through vaccination.
He said 70-80% of the country's residents need to be vaccinated for collective immunity, but if the rate of spread of the virus decreases significantly, masks may be cancelled sooner.
As of May 4, about a third of Canadians had received at least one dose of the vaccine, but Manuel says Ontario modeling suggests vaccination is unlikely to reduce the number of infections until late August or September. The Ottawa City Council recently extended the mask regime until Aug. 26.
Health Canada's Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Teresa Tam, recently said that the strictest measures, such as plant closures, could be phased out as early as summer as more people get vaccinated. But at the same time, she noted that vaccination does not mean the elimination of the mask regime.
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