A COVID legacy? When doctors say we should still be masking up – CTV
May 6, 2023
Even before the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 pandemic was no longer a “public health emergency of international concern” on Friday, many Canadians had already given up wearing masks as mandates lifted in most public places.
Although WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted Friday’s declaration “does not mean COVID-19 is over,” many people will likely interpret it that way, said Dr. Allison McGeer, infectious diseases specialist and microbiologist at Sinai Health Systems in Toronto.
“Truthfully, at least in Canada, most behaviour is already reflecting most people’s opinion that the pandemic is over,” McGeer said.
Still, infectious diseases specialists are hoping the practice of masking, which emerged in this country as a response to the pandemic, will continue at certain times and in certain places to help reduce the spread of not only COVID-19, but influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) as well.
