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By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Now is the time for regulation, not expectation on masks

Oct 28, 2020 | 4:35 AM

KAMLOOPS — THE ‘EXPECTION’ THAT MASKS will be worn in all indoor public places is worth about as much as a pumpkin spice latte if you throw in five bucks.

Dr. Bonnie Henry still can’t bring herself to order mandatory mask wearing in public. Instead, she says this: “It is now the expectation that people will wear a non-medical mask in public spaces.

“It is not an order, because this is something I know we support as part of our mutual responsibility to protect each other.”

If that were true, it wouldn’t be necessary to try to talk people into it with expectations. Fact is, an awful lot of people still don’t support wearing masks as part of their mutual responsibility. They still don’t get that if we all wore masks we’d all be protected. We’re getting better but we’re not there yet.

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There are places we just don’t bother. One is the drive-thru window. The cashier wears a mask but few drive-thru customers do, even though they interact only a couple of feet apart.

Retail stores, grocery stores — there are any number of situations in which not enough people wear masks or even social distance. COVID-19 is spiking, and spiking badly.

Dr. Henry has clamped down on house gatherings of more than six people plus household members, yet she doesn’t insist on masks in public places that surely are just as risky.

Many businesses have done the job for her, putting in place their own mandatory mask rules. They’re mandatory on public transit in many communities. B.C. Ferries insists on them. So do Ontario and Quebec. B.C. businesses and doctors are calling for them.

Maybe Dr. Henry is hoping mask wearing will gradually become a social expectation and that pretty soon everybody will be doing it.

But we’re already into the second wave. Now is the time for regulation, not expectation.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.