He said that while this order might come as a shock to people, the health unit has already been promoting the use of masks in the region over the past three months.
“The purpose is to avoid transmission and keep our rates low and avoid, as we move into stage three, a deterioration and regression into imposing some of the earlier restrictions.”
To anyone who may be doubting the effectiveness of wearing a face covering, Gardner is recommending that they head to the health unit website to check out some of the data and info collected that shows the effectiveness of the masks.
While cloth masks do not show any potential impact on one’s health, Gardner did note that there is a specific type of mask that can lead to one breathing in carbon dioxide if worn for a long period of time. If you would like to read more about this, you can read the article posted on the health units website as well.
When asked about the individuals who are exempted from the mandatory mask-wearing order and if that could pose a problem, Gardner said that if they can get about 80 percent of the population to wear masks, then they would have reached their goal.
For more information about the mask order and how to stay safe, health to the SMDHU’s page here.