First steps to end mandatory masking begin Monday in Quebec.

Students in both elementary and high schools are no longer required to wear masks while seated in class.

But the COVID-19 mask mandate still applies in common areas of elementary and high schools, and while students are circulating and on school buses.

Quebec’s interim public health officer has said that as early as next month, wearing masks could become a matter of personal choice rather than an obligation.

Much the same has been said by Ontario’s chief medical officer of health. But Dr. Kieran Moore has yet to recommend an exact day for lifting the provincial mask mandate.

Premier Doug Ford has said repeatedly that he will remove the mask mandate based on the recommendation of Dr. Moore.