Reversing itself on masks, Ottawa orders 13.5 million
Face coverings may help reduce spread of virus
The federal government has quietly issued a tender for 13.5 million non-medical cloth masks, coming almost full circle on the thorny issue of face coverings for the public to combat the spread of COVID-19.
The order would produce enough masks to equip one in every three Canadians, plus some, though it’s unclear exactly who would receive them or how they’d be distributed.
The tender issued by Public Services and Procurement Canada says the masks are not for health-care workers but for other employees whose work may lead to “inadvertent exposure to this virus.”
The coverings should be washable and allow people to breathe comfortably for as much as 12 hours at a time, whether at a desk or doing “heavy exertion” such as delivering letters, says the document.
“These cloth masks will be purchased as part of our overall pandemic preparedness plans, and may be used in a variety of organizations and settings,” said PSPC spokeswoman Stéfanie Hamel.
Early in the pandemic, the Public Health Agency of Canada and other federal officials actually discouraged mask use by ordinary Canadians who were not sick, saying it might actually prompt people to touch their faces excessively.
But Dr. Theresa Tam, the country’s chief public health officer, has more recently recommended face coverings when people are outside their homes and physical distancing is not possible.
Meanwhile, there’s increasing evidence that near-universal mask use could do much to contain the virus as lockdowns are eased.
Still, relatively few jurisdictions in Canada have made the practice mandatory, unlike in several other countries worldwide.
A mass federal purchase of non-medical masks sounds like an “excellent” idea, said Dr. Jennifer Kwan, an Ontario family physician who has been championing wider mask use.
“It’s a low-cost, low-risk intervention. As opposed to lockdowns, which are extremely detrimental, especially for a prolonged period,” she said Monday. “The government purchasing a large number of masks to distribute to the vulnerable would be very, very helpful.”
The federal tender sets out detailed specifications for the coverings ordered by Ottawa, such as including three layers of fabric and a “stiffener” to ensure a tight fit around noses. They are to come in three sizes, it says.
No one suggests that masks alone are enough to limit community transmission of COVID-19. But a number of recent studies, often using mathematical modelling to project the effectiveness of mask-wearing, have concluded they are a key tool, along with measures like contact tracing and strict quarantining.
A British study published last week said its models showed that in a variety of different scenarios “facemask use by the public could significantly reduce the rate of COVID-19 spread, prevent further disease waves and allow less stringent lock-down regimes.”
Another study published last week, by researchers at Texas A & M and other U.S. universities, compared COVID-19 trends in three locations before and after the public were required to wear masks. The results, they said, suggest widespread mask use is “the most effective means to prevent inter-human transmission.”
A modelling paper released in April by scientists in Britain, France, Hong Kong and Finland concluded that use of masks by 80 per cent or more of the population could significantly curb transmission and should be urgently implemented.
“A ‘mouth-and-nose lockdown’ is far more sustainable than a ‘full-body lockdown,’ from economic, social and mental health standpoints,” said the paper, which had not yet been peer reviewed.