To eliminate confusion, the local Medical Officer of Health is rescinding his face covering order in favour of the more restrictive provincial rules.
Speaking on Friday morning, Dr. Wajid Ahmed said there was often confusion over which rules people should follow, so he says from now on, just follow the provincial guidelines as it relates to face coverings.
"People are thinking my order talks about the religious exemption, the provincial order doesn't talk about the religious exemption so which order am I following? In terms of clarity, we clarified that the more restrictive order always takes place."
According to Dr. Ahmed, there is one major difference between his local order and the provincial order people are now being asked to follow.
"Our order was on the retail stores on the businesses, the provincial order goes all the way into the office settings as well," he says. "They are also under the order to use face coverings under their office settings."
Dr. Ahmed says the provincial order will continue to be enforced by police and local municipal by-law officers.
"The police always had the powers to enforce everything that was under the reopening Ontario act," he says. "In the beginning of the pandemic, our team worked closely with our municipal partners and law enforcement agencies to clarify some of these rolls and responsibilities in terms of who is doing what."
Again, Ahmed says when in doubt, whether it relates to face coverings or not, the more restrictive rule always takes precedent.