Waterloo Region has announced that beginning Saturday, masks will not longer be required on all Grand River Transit buses, trains and at customer service centres.
The masking rules initially came into effect on July 13, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The region says the decision to align with the province’s announcement on Wednesday comes after consultations with Waterloo Public Health.
Read more: Hospitals in Waterloo Region, Guelph will still require masks when province lifts mandate
“I want to thank our customers and the community for following the safety measures we put in place throughout the pandemic and for standing by us throughout this challenging time,” Neil Malcolm, acting director of Transit Services, stated.
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“Your support for the measures we’ve taken helped keep our community safe and transit running.”
On Wednesday afternoon, the province’s chief medical officer of health Dr. Kieran Moore said that most of Ontario’s remaining COVID-19 mask mandates will be lifted on Saturday, although masking will still be required in long-term care and retirement homes.
“To continue providing an additional layer of protection for the most vulnerable, masks will still be required in long-term care and retirement homes. Masking is recommended in higher-risk congregate living settings, such as shelters and group homes,” Moore said.
But he also left the door open for organizations to make their own decisions on their masking policies.
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A short time after Moore’s announcement, the hospitals in Guelph, Kitchener and Cambridge all elected to keep their masking rules in place.
“The science tells us how COVID is spread and that has not changed,” said Marianne Walker, president and CEO of Guelph General Hospital.
“We care for the most vulnerable patients and masking is one way we can keep them safe.”
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