The recent Omicron wave and the relatively high number of hospitalizations and deaths due to the virus have some asking why the provincial government decided to lift the mask mandate when it did.

COVID numbers started to spike in March, but despite that, government lifted pandemic restrictions, including the mask mandate.

There are estimates that total COVID cases involving the highly contagious lineages of the Omicron variant may have reached the hundreds of thousands.

Health Minister John Haggie stands by the decision to officially lift mask mandates.

He calls it a “balance” in terms of easing restrictions and living with COVID instead of trying to keep it out, “because you can’t keep it out.”

The mask mandate will remain in place in schools in the K-12 system until a further decision is made in mid-May.