Unease over lifting mask mandate
Bevan-Baker says mandate should still be in place; Liberals decry lack of notice, consistency
Marlo Dalton has decided to continue to require her customers to wear a mask.
The owner of Simply Aesthetics nail salon in Stratford decided that it was the best decision to make to protect her own health.
Unlike some other service sector employees in retail or restaurants, her business requires close contact with clients.
“I'm a Type 1 diabetic with stage three renal failure,” Dalton told The Guardian in an interview, between appointments on July 12.
“So I'm a little more cautious than the everyday person that works at a grocery store."
Dalton said she was caught off guard with July 9’s announcement that an indoor mandate on wearing nonmedical masks was being lifted by the province, effective immediately. She said some notice would have been helpful. But keeping the mandate in place longer would have been better.
"I think we should have opened up to the rest of Canada first to see where it goes,” she said.
Dalton says her appointment for her second dose of the vaccine is at the end of this week.
The July 9th announcement that the mask mandate would be lifted caught some business owners off guard. P.E.I., B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan have all lifted their mask mandates.
About 31 per cent of Islanders have been fully vaccinated, significantly below the national rate of 43 per cent.
Green Opposition leader Peter Bevan-Baker said many Islanders were left confused as to why the mandate was lifted. He said he believes it should have been left in place.
“If you look at our neighbouring provinces – Nova Scotia and New Brunswick – like P.E.I. they made commitments not to roll back these
precautions until we had people fully vaccinated at 75 or 80 per cent,” Bevan-Baker said.
“It should never have been lifted without proper notice.”
An e-mailed statement from the Liberal Party did not suggest the mask mandate be reinstated. But interim leader Sonny Gallant also said the lack of notice was a hindrance for businesses.
“While we support (the Chief Public Health Office’s) decision-making, government failed to do their job in properly communicating this announcement to Islanders and giving appropriate notice to adapt,” Gallant said in a statement.
“In our view the Maritime provinces should be seeking to achieve a higher degree of consistency in terms of masks, border reopening, etc.”
In an e-mailed response to questions posed by The Guardian, the CPHO cited a number of indicators used to support the decision to lift the mask mandate.
These included the fact that only two cases have been detected in P.E.I. in the last month, the relatively low number of active cases in Canada, the quick testing and tracing capacity of public health and the fact that “outbreaks have been small and quickly contained.”
The e-mail also noted that, since June 27, 25,800 travellers have been tested at the Island’s points of entry.
No cases have been detected among these travellers.
“While an important layer of protection, masks are not our first line of protection against COVID-19,” read the e-mail.
“The need to maintain physical distancing, hand sanitizing and staying home when sick are important public health measures that remain in place.”
The CPHO is still recommending masks be worn indoors by those who are not fully vaccinated but is also suggesting Islanders wear a mask “based on their own situation and their own level of comfort.”
In the Confederation Court Mall in Charlottetown, signs on all entrances still stated masks were still required.
Ashleigh Coffin, a sales associate at the clothing retail store Eclipse, was still sporting a mask on July 12. She guessed about “every second person” has been wearing a mask since the change.
“The people who aren’t wearing them are excited they don’t have to wear it,” she said.