The top doctor for Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox and Addington says the region is ready to move on from measures to protect against COVID-19 as the case severity lessens.
During his bi-weekly media briefing, Dr. Piotr Oglaza pointed to a decrease in COVID-related hospitalizations in KFL&A, despite an increased presence in wastewater samples.
“The indicators that are showing the severity of illness on a population level, such as hospitalization rates — they continue to remain low,” Oglaza said.
He said while the province is doing away with the masking mandate, those who feel they are more vulnerable are encouraged to continue masking.
“Deciding which activities to participate in will involve individuals assessing their own level of risk, their own comfort level and also while being mindful of others around them,” Oglaza said.
That combined with the region’s high vaccination rates is enough to convince Oglaza that KFL&A can move on from COVID-19.
“This is overall very reassuring news for our region, and we are confident that in that our community is ready now to move towards lifting a living with COVID 19 by lifting the emergency restrictions that were put in place,” Oglaza said.