😷 Leaders in Ontario can’t agree if wearing masks in indoor public spaces should be mandatory — and, if so, who should give that order. I asked public health officials, politicians, a physician and a lawyer about the province's patchwork approach to face covering. [1/7]
The Ontario government strongly recommends masks but has maintained a provincial rule would be too hard to enforce. They say masking is best dealt with at the regional or local level. @jkwan_md and doctors with #Masks4Canada want to see consistently-applied rules. [2/7]
Wajid Ahmed and Nicola Mercer, the medical officers of health for Windsor-Essex County and Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public respectively, enacted mandatory mask rules in their regions. They say rules do more than recommendations to increase usage. [3/7]
In those cases, more emphasis is on educating people who don't wear masks when they should than on punishing them.
Niagara Region’s medical officer of health @mustafahirji says such an order should be left to elected officials to allow for debate. [4/7]
Niagara Region’s medical officer of health @mustafahirji says such an order should be left to elected officials to allow for debate. [4/7]
That's a position St. Catharines mayor @WSendzik and Niagara Falls councilor @CIoannoni disagree with, saying public health units should continue to take the lead on pandemic response. (There's much more on that nuanced conversation in the article) [5/7]
Lawyer @RobShirkey, who has been advocating for mandatory mask rules, says there is little question that the province, medical officers of health, and local officials all have the power to make face covering mandatory if they choose to. [6/7]
He also says more should be done to normalize mask wearing, a position all the doctors I spoke to agree with. They also say it's important we continue to practice physical distancing and good hand hygiene, since the pandemic is not over. [7/7] tvo.org/article/who-ca…
