Chatham-Kent Council could vote on a mandatory mask by-law this Monday night.
Mayor Darrin Canniff says an information report will be presented to the virtual council table, followed by what could be a lengthy discussion.
Mayor Canniff says if any councillor decides to do so, a motion could be made and an official vote on a mandatory mask by-law could happen as early as Monday night.
“There will be a lengthy discussion potentially,” says the mayor. “Maybe no one will bring it up and it won’t come up but if someone decides to put a motion forward then we could be voting on it.”
The mayor says he has received a lot of e-mails about mandatory masks and is well aware of the discussion in the community.
“A lot of people point to me directly and have asked why are YOU not making masks mandatory?” says Canniff. “I’ve always said that I’m supporting Dr. Colby but it’s not my decision – it’s the decision of council. Ten people have to put up their hands in order to do that.”
Mayor Canniff adds that the mandatory masking topic has been a very popular and sometimes heated debate.
“It is a huge discussion point. I’ve talked to several councillors and some of them are saying they’ve never run into such an issue they’ve got so many comments on. And it’s on both sides. Some are saying please put these masks in… some people look at the masks as somewhat of a wonderdrug, versus the flip side. I know that people are very concerned. We’ll have a healthy discussion about it this Monday.”
The local Support Mandatory Masks for Chatham-Kent group is also presenting their petition to council on Monday night as part of this information report. As of Thursday evening, the petition has 2,400 signatures.
Chatham-Kent’s Medical Officer of Health, Dr. David Colby is also expected to be in virtual attendance for Monday’s meeting.
Dr. Colby is standing firm in his position against the need for mandatory masking locally.
Colby has long maintained his belief in the hierarchy of COVID-19 protection, where physical distancing is far and beyond the most important measure of protection. That is followed by engineering controls such as the plexi-glass barriers that are now common place and administrative controls such as one way aisles, proper spacing in retail and more with face masks a “distant fourth” in the conversation.
Dr. Colby continues to stress that distancing is still the most important measure for Chatham-Kent residents and is highlighting the difference between medical grade masks and the now-common cloth masks
“Physical distancing is certainly important whether people wear masks or not,” he says. “There’s a world of difference between medical grade masks with full personal protective equipment and the kind of cloth masks that are commonly worn out in the community.”
C-K’s top doc says there is excellent evidence that the medical grade masks are very effective, but the same can’t be said for the common face masks.
“If we put everybody in full PPE I’m sure it would make a difference, there’s no question about that,” says Dr. Colby. “But the idea on cloth masks in-particular is very murky indeed and I think that I would hesitate to recommend something that there really isn’t a lot of evidence to support.”
As has recently been highlighted, Dr. Colby recognizes that a mask mandate could make the general public “feel better.”
“I think that the widespread use of this makes people feel better,” he says. “It’s like chicken soup.”
Colby also recognizes that masks “may be good to contain large droplets when coughing or sneezing”, but those individuals shouldn’t be out of their homes in the first place.
“I don’t want people who are coughing and sneezing out in the community anyway. I want people to stay at home who have that,” Dr. Colby adds. “And when cloth masks get wet they themselves can be a source of infection. Again, there’s a lot of conflicting data out there and I think societies have to make some decisions about that.”
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