Airdrie now has a mask-wearing bylaw, following a decision by City council at a regular meeting Aug. 17.
However, the bylaw will only be enacted if Airdrie's active number of COVID-19 cases causes Alberta Health Services (AHS) to designate the city's status level as “enhanced.” According to AHS, enhanced status means a health region’s risk level requires additional public health measures to control the virus’ spread.
“All of us, we’re hoping we never get to where we have to implement the bylaw, obviously, so let’s hope it doesn’t get there,” said Mayor Peter Brown.
If enacted, the bylaw would remain in effect until 14 days after the provincial government removes the enhanced designation.
According to Legislative Services Team Lead Kari Kitiuk, if Airdrie's bylaw goes into effect, face-coverings would have to be worn on public premises or in any public vehicle in the city, “unless there is separation by way of a screen, shield or other barrier.”
“Public premises are defined broadly and covers those buildings or areas of a building where the public has a right of access or is invited,” she said. “[It] does not include any premises that require enrolment or membership, such as schools. Public vehicles include buses, taxis or other vehicles used to transport the public for a fee, such as a company like Uber.”
Exemptions apply to children under the age of five, people who cannot remove a face-covering safely without assistance, people who have a valid medical reason to not wear one, people who are seated at a table or bar, people engaging in an athletic activity and anyone who is accompanying a person with a disability who requires lip-reading to communicate. Proof of exception is not required.
The temporary removal of a mask is also allowed for security purposes, Kitiuk added.
The fine for not adhering to the bylaw would be $100, Kitiuk said. Public spaces that fail to display prescribed signage could face a $200 fine. However, enforcement would be on a complaint basis, she added, and discretion would reside with the attending officer.
“It is staff’s understanding that council would prefer to see the bylaw used for educational purposes, rather than punitive,” she said. “For that reason, enforcement will occur only in those instances where compliance with education has not been successful.”
Airdrie's bylaw was based on the City of Calgary’s mandatory face-covering bylaw that went into effect Aug. 1, Kitiuk said.
Much of council’s discussion focused on the meaning of "enhanced designation." Many councillors presumed the City would be placed under enhanced status if Airdrie reaches 35 active cases.
Staff clarified that enhanced status is not tied to a fixed number of cases, but is at the discretion of the Alberta government. The reason it is not attached to a number, according to Corporate Communications Team Lead Jill Iverson, is because it’s dependent on the manner and context in which the virus is spreading.
“There isn’t a certain way to say, ‘Here’s when you get to enhanced,’” Iverson said. “You really need to look at your community as a whole and understand what is going on to see if you get to that level.”
As an example, Iverson used a hypothetical situation where 50 Airdronians travelling together internationally and all returning with positive COVID-19 cases contracted the virus from the same source.
“You’d all of a sudden have 50 cases, but the risk is lower because it’s not spreading around the community,” she said. “If you have 50 cases and people are getting it from different stores in your community, there’s a higher risk because it’s clearly spreading around the community.”
While Airdrie experienced a spike in COVID-19 cases in July – the City had 25 active cases as of July 27 – the number has dropped considerably in recent weeks. As of Aug. 17, there were just two active cases in Airdrie and 78 recoveries, according to AHS data.
“It’s difficult for every community because we’re just so terrified of the spread, but I think, looking at our numbers in Airdrie, we’re doing really well,” Coun. Candice Kolson said.
“I guess we’ll see what happens when kids are back in school, sports start up and that kind of thing to see if we hit that enhanced [status] really quickly, or if it continues to stay low.”
Council voted 6-1 for all three readings of the bylaw. Coun. Darrell Belyk voted against each reading, stating he would rather see the bylaw come into effect if Airdrie reaches 35 active cases. This would give Airdrie a per-capita rate of 50 cases per 100,000 residents – the threshold for when a region is placed under “watch” status. A watch status is a level below enhanced status.
“I think the bylaw is a well-written document, but I can’t support the bylaw with a status level of enhanced,” he said.
Scott Strasser, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @scottstrasser19
