LETHBRIDGE, AB – Lethbridge residents could be wearing masks again soon in some places, if City Council decides to bring back a municipal bylaw.
Mayor Chris Spearman tells us he’s putting forward a motion at next week’s City Council meeting on September 7th asking that a face-covering bylaw be discussed once again.
Spearman’s Official Business Resolution is asking Council to approve masks to be worn in all city-owned facilities until December 31, 2021.
He says with COVID-19 cases quickly rising across Alberta, it’s important to protect public health.
“What’s the impact going to be as we go through a period when people are going back indoors. How are we going to protect each other? The medical experts around the world and medical organizations are saying two vaccines are not enough. People who are vaccinated can still be carriers,” Spearman told our radio station Tuesday.
The City of Edmonton has put a mask-wearing bylaw back in place and Spearman expects other Alberta communities will follow suit.
“It’s important (Lethbridge) City Council look at what’s happening across the province,” Spearman said. “There are a lot of people, including 650,000 school children in the province of Alberta that can’t get vaccinated, so how are we going to protect people moving forward and how are we going to keep businesses open?”
No question another masking bylaw won’t be overly popular with many residents as the issue in Lethbridge has been a contentious one from the start.
City Council lifted the last municipal mask-wearing bylaw back on July 1st to coincide with the province getting rid of its Alberta-wide mask mandate. However, Council did leave the door open to discuss possibly reinstating that bylaw should the COVID-19 situation change.
