Toronto surprised and concerned so many people not wearing face masks in public

Face masks are officially recommended by public health officials at this time, but it appears some are taking the loosening of restrictions in Ontario as a cue to ditch them.

Reports on social media are mixed as to how many people appear to be wearing masks, but there are definitely lots of complaints that not enough people are doing it.

So #Toronto opens up the Lakeshore for cyclists runners walkers etc...so much for social distancing...and I saw 2 masks...good job. #ActiveTO @JohnTory #covidtoronto #Social_Distancing #MaskItOrCasket #TOpoli #onpoli #VictoriaDay

— billie davies (@billied7) May 16, 2020

Parts of Lake Shore Boulevard and other streets were recently opened up to pedestrians and cyclists and blocked off to cars, and it appeared to some people strolling around the area that many were not wearing masks.

How can we change this? What actions need to happen for this change to be made now? Given the number of people enjoying the sun in downtown Toronto without masks this weekend, I wouldnt be surprised we'll need increased testing within 2 weeks...

— Ryan Doherty, PhD (@ryansdoherty) May 16, 2020

The recent beautiful weather in Toronto certainly hasn't been helping motivate people to social distance, but some people say the least people can do who are enjoying the weather in crowded areas is to wear a mask.

Almost nobody is wearing masks in downtown Toronto. Please implement mandatory mask wearing if you want to ever reopen.

— TortillaFlat11 (@TortillaFlat11) May 16, 2020

Downtown areas appear to be the worst offenders.

Toronto. #SadDayInTheCity. Just walked out along King St. W. and back along Queen St. W. Don’t know what’s sadder. All the empty and boarded up Stores or the fact that LESS then 10% of people were wearing masks. This is not going to end anytime soon with this Me Only Mentality”.

— Raichme to Reach me. (@raichme) May 16, 2020

For example, you might want to avoid Queen and King Streets if having to navigate fellow pedestrians not wearing masks and making no attempt to social distance as they pass you on the sidewalk freaks you out.

i had to swing by the office yesterday to drop off some hardware before crossing the border. it was relatively nice out (seems rare in toronto) so i decided to walk back. i did an informal survey and only 22/372 were wearing masks!!

— jia shen (@jiashensucks) May 17, 2020

Someone in Toronto actually did an informal survey on Saturday and counted only 22 out of 372 people wearing masks.

Happy sunday everyone. Just drove my wife to work.
Downtown toronto. Last week when i drove her. Noticed maybe 90 % of the people walking and waiting at the bus stop were wearing masks. This morning maybe 25%. Have we already eased up on social distancing already? pic.twitter.com/frAkvCUFSr

— Dan the man (@danwarren6) May 17, 2020

Some people are also noting that whereas they saw almost everyone in Toronto wearing masks in days previous, it seems like they're being used less widely now.

In regards to the masks, our Staff regularly consult and take guidance from Toronto Public Health (TPH). At this time TPH has not deemed masks as mandatory for traveling on public transit. However, we will pass your suggestion along to staff ^JH

— TTC Customer Service (@TTChelps) May 17, 2020

Some are concerned with the lack of masks they're seeing on public transit, although the TTC notes that Toronto Public Health has not deemed masks mandatory for travelling on transit.

Of course, you'll see lots of people not wearing face masks if you swing by one of the now-regular Saturday protests of the lockdown at Queen's Park...but that's a whole other story.