Chatham-Kent has been one of the last holdouts in the province to not have a mask-wearing bylaw. That changed on Monday night at the Chatham-Kent council meeting, with council narrowly approving a bylaw requiring people to wear masks in indoor public spaces.
Councillor Melissa Harrigan says she is relying on the backing of the medical community who supported the bylaw to help her make her decision to vote in favour of a mandated mask bylaw, which has become the norm across most of Ontario, other than a portion of Lambton County.
Harrigan said if the mask bylaw can even prevent one Covid-19 case or death it will be worth adopting.
Councillor Steve Pinsonneault was against a mask bylaw, saying that it gave people a false-sense of security.
Chatham-Kent Mayor Darrin Canniff says the bylaw is about public safety, noting that there will have to be education about the proper way to wear a mask.
In September, council will discuss other preventative measures, including physical distancing requirements and the provision of hand sanitizer in public spaces.
Council voted 63% in favour of the bylaw.
The mandatory mask bylaw goes into effect in Chatham-Kent on Friday.
