Chatham-Kent's top health official says the day is coming when people won't have to wear masks or face coverings.
Chatham-Kent Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Colby wouldn't commit to a timeline, but said it will eventually happen. He said in a worst case scenario it could take a few years for widespread masking to disappear, but it could happen sooner if vaccination and spread control go well with no further problems, such as rising numbers of cases involving variants.
Colby said he's waiting for upper levels of government to make the decision on when we'll be able to put masks away, although he could make the call himself if there was a need. He added a date for the transition remains a mystery.
"We need to look at this beyond the borders of Chatham-Kent and see what the recommendations are on a national and provincial level," he said. "I trust they're going to make decisions that are heavily science-informed and ride this along."
The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in the U.S. has told people in that nation that they can do away with masks once they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
"Once you're vaccinated, your potential to spread the virus becomes much less even in the rare instances when you get it. It's very mild and you don't transmit it to others very efficiently at all," said Colby. "In Canada, both the national and provincial authorities have not taken that step yet but it is coming. We're all tired and I hope we don't have any threats like this coming back anytime soon. Once every 100 years is too often."
Colby noted 67 per cent of the population in Chatham-Kent 12 years of age and older have been vaccinated with at least one dose and 17 per cent have received two doses. He also said 90 per cent of those 60 and over have received at least one shot, which he believes is tops in the province in that segment.
"When they published the metrics for the aggregate data this week, Chatham-Kent was clearly in the best shape of any health unit in the Southwest region and the Southwest region is in better shape than just about any region in Ontario, with the exception of some of the sparsely populated health units in the north," added Colby.
Chatham-Kent Public Health reported six active cases on Thursday, one less than the previous day. Colby said there's still no sign of the Delta variant first identified in India in Chatham-Kent.
