Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Wednesday that he encourages Ontario residents to wear masks whenever they are in a less safe situation, but he did not commit to any kind of mask mandate renewal in the province.

Ford made the comment during an announcement about building a new highway near Bradford on Wednesday morning in response to a question about whether the province might consider reapplying mask mandates in educational settings.

The premier did not say whether the government would enjoy reintroducing masks in schools, but he repeated the latest advice from Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore and also encouraged people to get flu and COVID-19 booster vaccines.

Also, Ford said: "Get the flu vaccine, and (the COVID-19 shot) too, because I can't expect that seniors like me will just have a chance to be safe."

Also, at a Toronto Board of Health meeting, Dr. Eileen de Villa, the Medical Officer of Health, said the city continues to follow provincial guidelines about not mandating mask-wearing, but remains ready to implement "removal" guidelines for schools if circumstances change.

Additionally, a number of experts have called for a return to wearing masks in some places with an increase in respiratory illnesses, especially in light of overcrowding in hospital emergency departments.

In an interview with CP24 a week ago, Moore said the province is preparing for a "difficult" fall and winter and is closely monitoring data related to diseases, and also urged those who are more vulnerable to severe health outcomes to consider masking with increased risks in the province.