TTC riders are now required to use face masks when traveling on the system. According to Mayor John Tory, it will be necessary in order to get people to return to public transit.
The policy was initially announced last month but only took effect at midnight. Violators of the policy could technically face a $195 fine. TTC stated that it has no plans to hand out tickets as of now and will instead work to educate riders about the importance of masks.
As part of the effort, TTC workers will be handing out one million masks to riders over the coming weeks and months and an advertisement and social media campaign are being launched in the 10 languages that are most frequently spoken in the city.
Those who have medical conditions that make it hard for them to wear a mask is exempted from the policy, as are all children below 2 years of age.
The launch of the TTC’s mandatory mask policy comes as the agency allows the return of all-door boarding and cash payments which were both suspended at the height of the pandemic. Although the policy only took effect for a few hours, Tory stated that he was been “heartened” by the number of people he has already seen wearing masks while on the system.
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https://www.healthline.com/health-news/face-masks-importance-battle-with-covid19
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/types-of-face-mask