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Ottawa Public Health has advised people to wear a mask in indoor public spaces, as well as outdoors in crowds when two meters distance cannot be maintained.
Fans in the TLC crowd as they performed on the RBC stage during Bluesfest at Lebreton Flats on Saturday, July 16, 2022. Photo by Ashley Fraser/Postmedia
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As the city is hit by a summer spike in COVID-19, Ottawa Public Health says wearing a mask both indoors and in crowded outdoor places will protect people from infection.
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How many people are aware of this advice or follow it is another matter.
It’s been four months since Ontario dropped the requirement to wear a mask indoors in most public spaces.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that people are becoming less likely to wear a mask when entering the grocery store, pharmacy or other indoor public spaces.
This newspaper visited 18 shops in the city in an informal survey and found that a substantial majority of customers did not wear masks.
The only exceptions were at Kowloon Market in Chinatown, where 27 of 28 customers wore masks on the day we visited, a Whole Foods outlet where 20 of 32 customers wore masks, and a Shopper’s Drug Mart on Bank Street, where there was an even division. .
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When it comes to massive outdoor events, consider the scene at Bluesfest, the city’s biggest summer festival earlier this month. Headlining concerts attracted up to 30,000 fans.
A few people wore masks, but they were far from the majority.
Public health authorities say wearing a mask is one of the simplest and most effective ways to prevent the spread of the virus.
The Omicron subvariant that is fueling the latest wave is the most contagious to date, and Ottawa is experiencing a “significant resurgence of COVID-19,” according to a statement from Ottawa Public Health.
Several factors appear to contribute to people wearing masks even when the risk of COVID-19 increases, including a lack of mandates, mixed messages from public health officials, social conformity, and a widespread desire that the pandemic finish
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Colin Furness, an epidemiologist at the University of Toronto, says he sees the same trend in Toronto.
“I know smart, responsible people who want to make sure they don’t mask themselves,” he said. “And they’re not driving trucks in Ottawa. They’re not people saying, ‘Stop the oppression!’ These are people who have just internalized the idea that COVID was a problem, and now it really isn’t.
“We have no evidence to support that narrative. All we have is the narrative.”
The Ontario government has fueled that narrative by ending daily reporting of COVID-19 statistics and restricting lab testing, Furness said. Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Kieran Moore, has stopped holding regular press conferences and the media has scaled back its reporting on the issue.
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That makes it difficult to get a clear idea of the level of transmission, while Moore and other public health authorities tell people to assess their personal risk when deciding whether to wear a mask, Furness said.
“We desperately want the pandemic to end, so we really attach ourselves to any suggestion that this is right, and we will look for evidence for that and selectively ignore the evidence. And the government has been helping that.”
Social conformity is also a big factor, Furness said.
“When you’re in the majority, the behavior is likely to increase because the minority that isn’t masked looks around and says, ‘Maybe I should.'” But once you get past that tipping point and you’re in the minority, then the social conformity begins to come to the other side and more and more people take off their masks.”
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Messages from public health authorities are also contradictory.
A report from Public Health Ontario said additional public health measures would help minimize death, illness and social disruption during the current wave. He suggested that people wear high-quality, appropriate masks whenever possible indoors, in crowded spaces, including outdoors, and in “close contact” environments such as public transport.
Moore, at a news conference last week, said he would not recommend reintroducing mask mandates or other public health measures now, but emphasized the role of vaccination and antiviral treatments for COVID-19 .
People might “consider” wearing a mask in crowded indoor spaces “if it’s appropriate for them, especially if they’re spending time with older and more vulnerable Ontarians,” he said. Moore strongly recommended wearing a mask in indoor public spaces for those most at risk or in places where vulnerable people may be found.
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Ottawa Public Health has advised people to wear a mask in indoor public spaces, as well as outdoors in crowds when two meters distance cannot be maintained.
The focus on mask use as a personal choice is frustrating for Furness and others who have tried to get the message out to the public that the virus is spread through shared air.
“You can’t rely (solely) on personal responsibility when you have a highly infectious airborne pathogen,” said Dr. Kashif Pirzada, an emergency physician in Toronto and co-founder of Masks4Canada, an expert group that has been educating the public. and promoted the use of masks during the pandemic. “Even if 20% or 30% of the population doesn’t mind being infected again and again, this decision to accommodate their desires and not have a mandate affects the 70% of the population who don’t want to get infected.” for COVID”.
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Pirzada also said he recognized there was some resistance to the mandates.
“I recognize there are a lot of people who don’t want to (wear a mask) and maybe they feel like they’re not at risk. Maybe they’re young. And it’s true that COVID is very mild most of the time when you’re very young.
“They can do whatever they want. Some candles burn longer and shorter, I guess. Some people smoke four packs a day and are free to do that. But their actions shouldn’t affect other people who have far more consequences.”
It suggests implementing mask mandates at essential services such as grocery stores and medical clinics and on public transportation.
“These are places you have to go,” Pirzada said. “You have to eat, you have to see the doctors.”
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Furness says a clear, widespread message is also needed that the virus is airborne and that N95-style masks provide the best protection.
Attitudes towards face coverings across Canada were explored in a recent survey released earlier this week by the Angus Reid Institute. It found that most Canadians realized that masks were effective, but fewer people wore them in public and support for mandating masks was waning.
The survey found that 74% of Canadians recognized the effectiveness of wearing masks in reducing the spread of COVID-19. However, only 51% of respondents supported making masks compulsory in public spaces, down from a peak of 86% in November 2020.
(In Ontario, 55 percent of respondents supported bringing back mask mandates.)
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Nationwide, three in 10 people said they wore masks in places like grocery stores, banks and movie theaters “most” or “all the time,” while 53 percent said they did so “rarely.” or “never”.
There were variations by gender and age. Men under 55 rejected the need for public health measures, Angus Reid said. “Only one in three would implement a mask mandate in their community compared to most all other age and gender combinations.”
Here’s what some people in Ottawa told us about wearing a mask during an informal random survey:
Lindsey Hollett, 48
“I didn’t stop completely, but I started taking it out in the spring. The seventh wave has started and with summer we hope to do some travel, so as much as we can to keep others and ourselves safe, we hate to cancel our trip.
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“Now I mostly wear them in public places where I’ll be for an extended period of time, like the mall or crowded places”
Kaycee Pearson, 29
“I haven’t worn masks since the restrictions were lifted because while the restriction was there, it was very uncomfortable. I personally have very sensitive skin, and this made everything worse, with rashes and everything on my face. And even all breathing by itself was very difficult. I find it much more comfortable, much more natural to breathe air the way we’re supposed to.
Taryn Feheley, 21
“I often don’t mask anymore because my office is…