Edmonton mask mandate to be reinstated for indoor public places

EDMONTON (CityNews) – Edmonton city council votes to make masking mandatory in all indoor public places starting Friday, September 3.

Here's what Edmonton mayor Don Iveson had to say earlier as council discussed bringing back masking mandate for all indoor spaces.

Says it came from growing public concern and an absence of leadership from the legislature. #yeg #yyc #ableg #Covid19ab pic.twitter.com/HvoTICTBr1

— Courtney Theriault (@cspotweet) August 30, 2021

In a 9-2 vote on Monday, councillors said the decision is based on case counts.

“I recognize it’s a tough decision for folks and the political backdrop isn’t lost on me but I think this is the right thing to do,” said mayor Don Iveson.

Councilor Andrew Knack proposed the indoor masking amendment. It came as council debated extending masking on just transit and ride-share beyond the province’s September 27th end date.

Councillors say they didn’t want to bring it back but they just felt like they had no choice.

“Information I got over this weekend was from a doctor who described the care of his patients now, describing a situation in health facilities that is much more dire than the first couple of times around,” said councillor Tim Cartmell.

The bylaw now includes all indoor spaces and not just city facilities, but also grocery stores, gyms, restaurants, etc.

“The situation has gotten away from us,” Edmonton mayor Don Iveson said before the decision was made.

“Some action and some leadership is required and in the absence of that coming strongly from the Legislature, people are once again calling on their local government to at least send a signal that we take this seriously.”

One major difference with the updated bylaw is that it is tied to case counts. Currently, Edmonton has a per capita rate of 238 per one hundred thousand. For the bylaw to be repealed, it must be below 100 for ten straight days. The hope is that will happen sooner rather than later.

“Sadly, I don’t think we’ll be back under 100 by the time council next meets. But I’d love to be wrong about that,” Iveson said.