Mask wearing now mandatory in enclosed public spaces

In a livestreamed video conference on July 6 the public health officers of Eastern Ontario announced their collaboration on a regional approach to mandatory face coverings and masks to help fight the spread of COVID-19. Participants were:

• Paul Roumeliotis, Medical Officer of Health Eastern Ontario Health Unit
• Paula Stewart, Medical Officer of Health, Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit
• Vera Etches, Medical Officer of Health, Ottawa Public Health
• Robert Cushman, Acting Medical Officer of Health, Renfrew County and District Health Unit (RCDHU)

During the video conference Dr. Roumeliotis emphasized that the pandemic is not over. While heartened by the good work done to date in the region, he said it is clear that to move to Stage 3, today’s directive issued under the province’s Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act was needed. Wearing a mask is an additional precaution to existing measures such as social distancing and hygiene. He said most of Ontario already has a mandatory masking regulation. Of his partner health units in Eastern Ontario he said, “We are close to each other; we have tourists coming in, back and forth, so it’s important for us to have a unified approach to this.” Referring to research, he said the virus can be spread by someone without knowing they have it. He said the health units are taking an educational approach and there would be a grace period of a week while the health units supported local businesses with signage and information to educate both work force and customers. He added,

It’s very simple. I wear a mask: I protect you. You wear a mask: you protect me. If everyone wears a mask, we are all protected.

In a media release also received July 6, RCDHU said this directive is to be primarily used as a means to educate people on mask use in premises, especially where 2-metre physical distancing cannot be maintained. Under the directive which applies both to residents and tourists, members of the public are required to wear a mask or face covering in “enclosed public spaces” including stores, restaurants, offices, malls, libraries, churches, public transit, taxis, etc. Dr. Remouliotis said there are medical exemptions to mask wearing which will be available on the health units’ websites.

Dr. Paula Stewart acknowledged the difficulties they experienced this spring in her region and said, “We learned with this virus you really have to be ahead of it. You may think everything is OK but it can turn in a flash.” She said many businesses had asked the health unit to make masks mandatory. Dr. Remouliotis said he had never had so many emails from citizens asking for masks.

Dr. Vera Etches said that their contact tracing showed that, astonishingly, people are not staying home when they are sick. She said wearing a mask is really about “social responsibility” and this added measure builds on all the others, to allow businesses to really do what they want – to be open.

Dr. Robert Cushman of RCDHU gave two reasons to wear masks: they do make a difference and make the wearer more conscious of social distancing; adding, because we want to go to Phase 3 and reopen the economy, “This temporary personal inconvenience will actually allow us to do what we need to do to contain this disease.” He asked the public to help.

The RCDHU media release also stated that the “Under the directive, the person responsible for a business or organization that is open shall operate the business or organization in compliance with the advice, recommendations and instructions of public health officials, including any advice, recommendations or instructions on physical distancing, cleaning or disinfecting.”

Answering a question about enforcement, Dr. Remouliotis said that the directive under the emergency measures is a blanket requirement so whether or not a municipality issues a by-law, masks are still required.

Referring to the fall and reopening schools, Dr. Etches said the Ministries of Education and Health would provide regulations for school boards. She said, “If adults do their part to keep the transmission low by physically distancing, limiting your contacts, staying home when you’re sick … adults need to do our part so that children can be together and be in school as much as possible.”

Here in the Valley at a meeting earlier on July 6, the Killaloe-Hagarty-Richards Council declined to issue a by-law requiring masks and one councillor was heard to say that he “would not be wearing one.” On the agenda for Madawaska Valley’s July 7 meeting is correspondence from a resident asking MV to make wearing masks compulsory.

Photo todayville

Renfrew County & District Health Unit (2020,July6) MakingMasksMandatory [media release]