Today, masks are no longer required in most places as many of Ontario’s remaining restrictions are lifted.
The exceptions include public transit, health-care settings, long-term care homes, shelters, jails and congregate care settings.
Employers will also no longer be required to conduct screening for COVID-19 or have a COVID-19 safety plan.
The remaining measures in schools, including cohorting and on-site symptom screening, have been removed, leaving the decision to mask or not to mask up to individuals.
Corinne Calder will be among those who will still wear a mask when she’s grocery shopping and running errands indoors.
“I think it’s good that we’re given the choice,” said the Barrie woman while making a regular trek downtown to do some shopping and banking on Sunday. “I know some people are looking forward to not being forced to wear masks.”
Paige Power has seen the benefits of masks these past couple of years - beyond its impact on the spread of COVID-19 - in the form of lower incidences of the flu and colds.
The downtown resident said she will continue to wear masks when in a public place or where there are crowds.
“I want to protect people who are still vulnerable, even though the mandate is going to be gone,” she said. “I just think it’s too soon."
While many may still want to mask as COVID-19 continues to spread through the community with the threat of yet another virulent variant on the horizon, many others are happy to be rid of them.
“Obviously, we need to be cautious, but we have to learn to live with COVID,” said Paul Markle, executive director of the Barrie Chamber of Commerce.
He expects there to continue to be a fair amount of hesitancy and that could take a further toll on businesses, particularly restaurants. Large increases in the cost of living, he adds, is eroding consumer confidence which will also take its toll on business.
But the easing of restrictions is bound to help, he said.
“There will be a hesitant portion of our population that won’t go into restaurants,” said Markle. “I think we need the ability to choose at this point. I think this, on the whole, (easing of restrictions) is going to help business over time.”
Sunny Jung, owner of downtown gift shop Everleigh Garden, like so many others in retail, has seen her share of challenges during the pandemic.
Coming off the typically slower months of January and February, heading into spring without the need of having to don masks is a double bonus for her.
“I’m excited about the new changes,” she said. “It’s about time, everybody’s ready for it.”
Jung has heard from customers that they are feeling more comfortable about going out. Although others, she added, still feel uneasy.
There are some places in the community where the use of masks and other precautions are still required.
Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre will continue to take precautions, including masking and imposing its vaccination policy.
“Although the Ontario government has lifted the vaccine passport in most businesses, RVH, like most hospitals, continues to require visitors to show identification and proof of double-vaccination or a valid exemption before visiting a patient within the health centre,” Dr. Jeffrey Tyberg, RVH's chief of staff said in an emailed statement.
“As a healthcare facility, we require a further layer of safety within the organization and the ability to assure our patients that everyone who is working in and visiting the hospital is vaccinated and continues to wear a mask while on premise. Proof of vaccination is only required of those visiting and not those receiving care at RVH.”
Patients and visitors will still be screened and staff are required to make health attestations and undergo rapid testing three times a week. Masking and the use of personal protective equipment is still in place.
RVH continues to make use of physically distanced spaces used for breaks and meetings and isolation time post exposure and during active COVID-19 infections.
Patients, meanwhile. can have one pre-booked visitor for one hour, four times a week.
Georgian College is maintaining the status quo until the end of the winter semester. All current safety protocols, including the vaccination procedure and masking, remain in effect.
When the semester ends, Georgian plans to retire its COVID-19 safety protocols.
Over at the MacLaren Art Centre it’s pretty well business as pre-pandemic usual.
“It’s nice to see the activity after closing for so long,” said Lisa Daniels, MacLaren’s executive director. “We’re wide open again. The only limit on the occupancy is determined by the size of the space.
“That means we can go back to full capacity with our programs.”
Use of masks will be encouraged but not enforced at the MacLaren Art Centre, which is once again welcoming visitors and participants.
Although anyone participating in programming, sharing a table and working in the same room as others for a prolonged period will be required to use masks.
But the situation, she said, is fluid, given ongoing concerns and hesitancy.
“We just want to be as respectful as we can,” said Daniels. “Staff and volunteers will continue to wear masks.”
