Town council voted unanimously Nov. 10 to hold a special meeting this Nov. 13 at 3 p.m. to debate a new mandatory face covering bylaw.
Councillors voted down such a law 3-4 last Sept. 22 back when the town had about one active case of COVID-19.
As of Nov. 10, Morinville had 34 active cases, was under a provincial COVID-19 watch status, and had the 12th-highest case rate per 100,000 people out of all health regions in Alberta. The province had capped social and family gatherings in Morinville and the Edmonton region at 15 people and had called on residents to wear masks in all indoor work settings.
Masks redux?
Coun. Nicole Boutestein said she brought the idea of mandatory masks back to the table due to the recent rise in active cases and hospitalizations in the region. (Alberta set a record for active cases and COVID-19 hospitalizations on Nov. 10, the CBC reported.)
Boutestein noted the chief medical officers of Canada and Alberta have both said social distancing and mask-wearing are essential if Canada is to bend the curve when it comes to new COVID-19 cases, and noted how one positive case could force a large swath of people into isolation. In an interview, she noted Devon, Morinville and Leduc County were the only Edmonton Metropolitan Region Board members to not have a mandatory mask bylaw in place as of Nov. 10.
“Our cases have increased and we need to take action,” she said in council.
When Coun. Stephen Dafoe asked, rhetorically, why she wasn’t calling for mandatory hand-washing and physical distancing as well (two other measures known to slow the spread of COVID-19), Boutestein noted scientists have determined this disease is spread primarily through droplets released by breathing or speaking. Many people don’t touch other people, but everybody talks.
“I’m not saying it’s going to stop it. I’m just saying that it’s going to curb the spread,” Boutestein said.
Boutestein said the town should pass a new mandatory face covering bylaw that would take effect immediately and have a set expiry date, possibly the end of January.
Mayor Barry Turner backed that idea, and said he was “shocked” by how quickly the pandemic situation had changed in Morinville. (Active cases in Morinville more than quadrupled from eight to 35 between Oct. 20 and Nov. 3.) The town has called on the province to take the lead on mask mandates, but it has not.
“That ultimately leaves it up to us,” he said.
“We need as many people wearing masks as possible.”
Turner said masks are an important, but not the only, tool with which to stop the spread of COVID-19, and the town would see more use of them if it makes them mandatory. A mask law would be tough to enforce, but that is true of all town bylaws.
Coun. Stephen Dafoe said he was “disgusted” by this proposal, and said he had never seen a situation where a councillor tried to bring back a defeated bylaw in this manner. While emphasizing he is pro-mask and acknowledging the town should be concerned about the growth in cases, he said just “one third of one per cent” of the town’s population has COVID-19.
“As an elected official, I have to make decisions based on logic and not emotion,” he said.
About 0.3 per cent of Morinville residents had COVID-19 on Nov. 10, Alberta Health’s COVID-19 relaunch map reported. That was more than Edmonton (0.26), Calgary (0.21), and St. Albert (0.15).
Coun. Rebecca Balanko questioned if a mask bylaw would result in more people wearing masks, and argued masks could encourage riskier behaviors that could increase transmission.
Many international studies have found widespread mask use significantly reduces transmission of COVID-19, the U.S. Centre for Disease Control reported. An Aug. 7 analysis by the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation found U.S. states experienced an eight-to 15-per-cent increase in mask use about half a month after introducing mandatory mask laws.
Friday’s mask bylaw debate can be viewed online at morinville.ca.
