Some Ontario Universities Are Lifting Their COVID-19 Mandates & Here's When It'll Happen
It's sooner than you think.
On top of allowing for students to have in-person graduations this year, some Ontario universities are making the call to lift their mask and vaccine mandates that they've had in place throughout the pandemic.
As of May 1, which is at the end of the Winter term for post-secondary students, schools like Laurier and McMaster University have said they will be putting a "pause" on their COVID-19 restrictions.
The University of Waterloo, Ryerson University, and Queens University also announced that they would be "suspending" mandatory masks and proof of vaccination requirements on campuses.
"An update for our community: As of May 1, McMaster is pausing the vaccination policy and mask requirements. This aligns with government guidelines and is possible because of the respect you have all shown for each other’s safety, so thank you," McMaster tweeted to their students.
Other post-secondary schools like George Brown College and Humber College are also following in their footsteps and expressed they'd be lifting COVID-19-related requirements come May 1 and May 2, respectively.
Places like York University and the University of Toronto have yet to announce their plans regarding COVID-19 restrictions in the summer.
The government of Ontario declared face coverings and vaccine policy mandates to be a thing of the past in most public settings just a few weeks ago, though there have still been a few rumblings amongst the public about concerns over mandates being gone too soon.
As of April 27, masking requirements will be lifted at all remaining public settings, like public transit.
On top of lifting these requirements, some Ontario universities like Ryerson, Western, and UofT shared that they will be bringing in-person convocations back this year.