According to the Vancouver Harbor report, , there was a big debate around the topic of "wearing no masks" in this epidemic. As everyone understands this new virus more and more deeply, "wearing a mask can prevent the spread of the epidemic" has gradually become a consensus.

At present, the Canadian Public Health Agency’s policy on masks is to recommend that the public wear non-medical masks when they cannot maintain a physical distance of 2 meters from others, such as public places, especially in crowded places- including shops, public transportation, etc. Wearing Non-Medical Mask Or face Shield.

However, many organizations and individuals believe that the mere suggestion of "recommended wear" is insufficient, and a mandatory wearing policy should be implemented through legislation.

"Recommended to wear" is insufficient

A national organization Masks4Canada formed by a group of medical professionals and epidemiologists in Canada, and a group in Quebec recently called for legislation to force people to wear masks under certain circumstances.

Masks4Canada has written to federal health officials, calling on them to introduce laws to force people to wear masks on the following occasions:

All indoor spaces except homes, such as schools, libraries, community centers, shops, restaurants, etc.; crowded places, both indoor and outdoor, such as protests or crowded parks, hiking trails; transportation.

In this letter, Masks4Canada pointed out that a recent poll showed that less than half of Canadians wear masks in public. The letter also cited the results of computer simulation studies that more than 70% of the population wearing masks in public places can significantly reduce the spread of the virus.

The letter also added that public safety measures such as wearing a seat belt while driving and wearing a helmet while riding a bicycle have become laws and are widely accepted.

Dr. Amy Tan, associate professor of family medicine at the University of Calgary, is one of the members of this group. She said that to make wearing masks a common expectation, similar to "do not wear shirts, do not provide services", everyone should also widely accept "do not wear masks, do not allow boarding", or "do not wear masks, not allowed to enter the store "This attitude.

There are already some businesses, such as Longo’s chain of grocery stores, that have implemented a policy that prohibits customers without wearing masks.

Dr. Tan said that through the introduction of laws, it can help businesses and public transportation services to make demands on customers.

Where is the mandatory mask order in Canada?

So far, the mandatory mask measures introduced by Canada basically involve public transportation, and it is difficult for people to maintain an effective body distance.

The Canadian Department of Transportation began to use masks for air passengers in April, and then extended to all types of sea, land and air transportation such as railways, ferries, and buses.

Many transportation agencies in Ontario, including Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton and other places on buses, trams and trains, it’s mandatory to use masks.

In addition, at least two cities have implemented laws that oblige to wear masks:

In Côte Saint-Luc, Quebec, a suburban city in Montreal, as of early June, there were hundreds of confirmed infections and dozens of deaths. The city has introduced laws that will force the use of masks in indoor public places starting July 1.

Wellington-Dufflin-Gulf, Ontario, which introduced mandatory masks (face masks) for most businesses in early June.

Most regulations have specific exempt groups, including children under two years of age, and those who cannot wear masks due to breathing difficulties or other illnesses.

There may be more regions to introduce coercive measures

At present, there may be more regions with similar mandatory laws and regulations. According to reports, health officials in Waterloo, Ontario are listening to businessmen.

Mulligan of the Toronto Health Bureau said that she has been conducting multiple consultations on the mandatory mask policy. The staff told her that so far, there is not enough evidence to support the introduction of regulations requiring masks.

But Mulligan said: "Given that we are seeing so many countries and regions restarting now, I think we have no choice but to wear masks...because we really want to reduce the risk of virus transmission."

She believes that governments at all levels should conduct research and discussion on mandatory mask policies. As part of the strategy for reopening the economy, it is necessary to figure out various methods and measures that may reduce the spread of the virus, and measure the risks and benefits.

If there is another wave of viruses in the future, Mulligan hopes that the government will adopt measures such as wearing masks to fight the epidemic more widely. The economic impact of the blockade is too serious.

At the same time, she suggested that the public must follow the recommendations of public health and voluntarily wear masks when they cannot maintain a body distance.

Of course, the introduction of mandatory policies also requires many supporting conditions.

Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease expert at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, said that if a mask is mandatory, it must be provided free of charge: "Many people may not be able to buy or make masks themselves."

Dr. Amy Tan also believes that medical and N95 masks must be reserved for medical staff. If non-medical masks are mandatory, the right to use them must be provided to vulnerable groups.

The US CDC was initially worried about the shortage of masks

As early as February, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) once tweeted that it is not recommended to use masks to prevent new coronaviruses.

However, in April, CDC Director Robert Redfield stated that he was "rethinking" the guidelines for who should wear a mask.

On April 3, US President Trump announced that he recommended that American people wear non-medical masks.

Anthony S. Fauci of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said in an interview recently that the government’s issue of inconsistent expressions before and after wearing masks is due to insufficient masks at the beginning of the epidemic.

He said that this was done to protect health care workers, because the outbreak initially included very few protective equipment such as N95 masks and medical masks. If everyone went to buy masks at that time, medical workers at the forefront of the fight against the epidemic would not have masks available, but they faced the greatest risk of infection.