Avoid stigmatizing mask-wearing as COVID-19 mandates lift: expert

Infectious disease specialist Dr. Lisa Barrett says there will still be a lot of at-risk people in the community, even as COVID-19 mandates end across the country.

CITYnews halifax \ Chris Stoodley

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A Halifax COVID-19 expert is advising people to avoid stigmatizing mask-wearing as mandates end across Canada, as there will still be people who are at risk in the community.

“There are a lot of people out there who are still at risk in the next couple of months, particularly while we’re sorting this out. It’s going to be tough,” Dalhousie University’s Dr. Lisa Barrett says. “There’s been anecdotal stories of people being asked in some places where masking has gone away in parts of the States, ‘Why are you wearing a mask? Do you have COVID?’

“We just don’t want to go down that road of stigmatizing folks if they decide, perhaps rightfully, to still wear masks.”

Nova Scotia is inching closer toward ending all COVID-19 mandates, where on March 21, all province-wide restrictions — such as gathering limits, physical distancing and masking — are set to end.

Across the country, other provinces — such as British Columbia and Alberta — have already dropped COVID-19 rules, including mask mandates.

But even as restrictions related to the virus begin dropping, Dr. Barrett reminds people there will still be those who want to continue ensuring their safety.

Some businesses in Canada have chosen to keep mask mandates in place because they want to protect their staff and patrons.

Moreover, some post-secondary institutions have announced that mask mandates will not end despite provincial changes to the rules.

The University of British Columbia told students masks will be required until the end of the semester on April 30 while the University of Alberta extended the mask mandate until March 16.

“It’ll be interesting to see what happens in the next couple of weeks in Nova Scotia and see how much of that protectionism continues here,” Dr. Barrett tells The Todd Veinotte Show.

According to a new Narrative Research poll, Nova Scotians are divided on the removal of mask mandates.

The survey indicates 73 per cent of people in the province support easing restrictions, but only 48 per cent are in favour of removing the wearing of masks in public places.

As March 11 marked the second anniversary of the World Health Organization naming COVID-19 a global pandemic, the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Dr. Howard Njoo reminded people that the marker doesn’t mean the end of the virus.

In fact, he says Canadians need to remain vigilant in the face of COVID-19.

And with a couple more months left of this respiratory season, Dr. Barrett says now likely won’t be the time when a lot of hospitalizations pop up.

“As long as people are still keeping COVID in the back of their mind and just, to be honest, good respiratory habits in mind, I think that’s reasonable,” she says. “For people who just want it to not be a thing anymore, that concerns me a little bit. Mainly because that’s a fairy tale that doesn’t reflect reality.

“For the most part, I think people will recognize that we’ve still got a little bit or work to do, even if it’s not mandated work.”