WESTLOCK - Following the institution of mask bylaws in Edmonton and other Alberta municipalities to slow the spread of COVID-19, Westlock’s mayor says council will discuss the possibility of a similar bylaw tonight.
Ralph Leriger says he’s been in discussions with CAO Simone Wiley and that the issue was to be addressed at council’s Aug. 10 meeting. As of Aug. 6 a handful of Westlock-area businesses have mandated customers wear masks when entering their establishments.
On July 29, Edmonton city council voted 10-3 to make masks mandatory in all public indoor spaces effective Aug. 1. The bylaw applies to not just city-owned facilities, but privately-owned businesses, too. Face coverings are now required in retail stores, entertainment venues, rec centres and vehicles-for-hire.
Meanwhile, St. Albert city council voted 6-1 Aug. 4 to approve a bylaw mandating the use of masks in indoor public facilities, including private businesses, on public transit and in city-owned facilities. The new rules came into effect midnight Aug. 8.
“Simone (Wiley) and I talked about it this morning (Aug. 5) and I guess it looks like it should be on the agenda,” said Leriger, only hours before the town issued a release stating an employee who worked at the Rotary Spirit Centre tested positive for COVID-19 (see story in the print edition or check back for an updated story Aug. 11).
“It’s something that council is going to have to discuss. Certainly the province has now changed their tune on school openings with mask wearing. It’s pretty fluid and it’s something we should get out in front of and discuss.”
The wearing of masks has become a hot-button issue on social media, with many videos posted online of people refusing to wear masks. Leriger says he can’t understand the pushback.
“It’s become a very divisive issue for people. From my perspective we’re regulated in so many ways that we can’t even begin to imagine, but for some reason we’ve chosen masking as the hill that we want to die on,” he said.
“I think it’s symptomatic that people are angry and have what I call COVID fatigue. They’re frustrated perhaps with job loss, with the economy, or maybe their retirement portfolios are taking a beating … people are just frustrated and angry.”
Alberta Health Services encourages people to wear non-medical masks in public when it’s difficult to maintain physical distancing of two metres.
AHS states that wearing a homemade or non-medical mask in public is another tool to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 — while it hasn’t been proven that masks protect the person wearing it, it can help protect people from being exposed to your germs.
AHS says masks should complement, not replace, other prevention measures like physical distancing, good hand hygiene and staying home when sick.
George Blais, TownandCountryToday.com
