City officials welcome mandatory mask order in Regina, Saskatoon

Officials in both Regina and Saskatoon say new public health orders related to indoor mask wearing and gathering sizes arethe right step forward to curbing the spread of COVID-19 and to avoidanother complete lockdown.

As a result of rising COVID-19 cases, the province mademasks mandatory in indoor public spaces in Regina, Saskatoon and Prince Albert and limitedindoor private gatherings to 10 provincially.

"Given the second wave happening, I am not surprised by this," Regina mayor Michael Fougere said. "And I think it's the right thing to do."

Fougere said the rising cases are an indication that people need to double down and be safe to avoid a total lockdown.Active cases of COVID-19 in the Saskatoon region have hit 270, while the number rises to 152 in the Regina region.

On Friday, Fougere held a media event where he expressed his opposition to sweeping provincial restrictions that were not common sense. On Tuesday, Fougere said the province's decision to restrict gatherings was a proportional reaction to the rising case numbers.

"It is a way to, again, dampen the transmission by reminding people how serious of a situation that we're in today," Fougere said. "It is measured."

Fougere said he would follow the enforcement plans of the chief medical health officer. He said education and public knowledge is the first step then enforcement is a judgment call from the province.

Similar opinions are held in Saskatoon. Pamela Goulden-McLeod,the director of emergency management for the City of Saskatoon, said the city wanted to thank the province for making this order with the safety of residents in mind and that the city agrees with the measure.

"What this really does is it really simplifies and makes clear for everyone what the orders are," Goulden-McLeod said.

"Prior to this businesses, different organizations have to make their own decisions. And by Dr. Shahab and the province, making a structure that clearly identifies what measures are in place, it makes it very clear for everyone to be able to follow," she said.

In a mayoral forum on Tuesday morning, Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark said he wanted to continue working directly with the medical health officials and the provincial government on mandatory masks.

"I know there's significant concern growing about the cases rising in our city and that's affecting businesses, that's affecting people's lives," Clark told Saskatoon Morning host Leisha Grebinski.

"I've been in touch with Minister Jim Reiter just in the last several days to say if, if and whatever steps we need to take, we will support you as a province. We will support the implementation and communication with residents," Clark said.

The City of Prince Albert is reviewing where the order will affect local residents, saidKiley Bear, the communications manager with the city.

"There's been a lot of talk internationally and provincially about mandatory masks and Saskatoon had just come out with the decision that they were going to make masks mandatory in their workplaces. So it was anticipated that something like this was coming," Bear said. "It didn't take us by surprise."

Bear said the city is focusing on continued co-operation with the province and is reviewing its recreational facilities, where many user groups have already introduced mask policies.

"It's something that I think people are getting used to and have been giving some thought to for a long time," Bear said. "We're just interested in doing our part to support people in the measures that will help stop the spread."

Mask order is'an opportunity to care for each other': Goulden-McLeod

When it comespeople who oppose masks or refuse to wear a mask, Goulden-McLeod said everyone can have their own opinions on things but masks are important.

"The more widespread following the guidelines, the quicker we can get this under control," she said. "It is so important that we control this as a public health emergency, but also as an economic emergency, and that we really need to do everything we can to support our business community.

"We really want to see this as an opportunity to care for each other as community members. And I really hope we don't view it as a restriction, but we view it as a way to show our community that we care about everybody and that we want everybody to be safe," she said.

Fougere said it's important because it's about safety.

"This is about public safety. It's keeping yourself and family members and people around you safe. I can't think of a more important way to try to lessen the transmission of this virus," he said.

"It's not difficult to put a mask on knowing that you're actually helping to protect the people around you and yourself," he said.

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