EDMONTON, AB – The province-wide masking mandate is coming to an end late next week, but don’t toss out your collection just yet.
Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw says face coverings will still be required in limited settings, like continuing care and acute care as well as on transit, in taxis and in ride-shares.
She says it’ll be a personal choice in other areas adding that not everyone will be eager to ditch the mask and that’s OK.
“Masking remains a very reasonable choice for people to make,” Hinshaw said on Tuesday. “It’s going to be really important as we move forward into stage three for people give each other the space that they need to navigate how they want to manage those risks.”
She notes some folks, including those with asthma, have reported additional benefits from mask-wearing over the past several months.
“Some people may want to continue wearing masks even beyond the COVID experience because for some people it’s been a really effective way of mitigating a risk that they have, not just from COVID-19, but from other respiratory infections,” says Hinshaw.
Lethbridge’s municipal mask bylaw isn’t set to expire until December 31st, unless the issue is dealt with again at the next City Council meeting on July 29th.