Richmond considering mandatory mask policy for city facilities

RICHMOND (NEWS 1130) — Richmond council is considering a new mandatory mask policy for city facilities to further limit the spread of COVID-19.

The policy, already given preliminary approval, could be in place in a month.

“In my opinion, it’s a no-brainer, just common sense. We have respect for each other, we need to show leadership as a municipal government,” Richmond Coun. Bill McNulty said Tuesday.

“You come in and if you don’t have a mask, you won’t get services. Same old story — no shirt, no shoes, no service.”

City staff would hand out masks to people who don’t have one, while exceptions would be made for those who can’t wear one.

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McNulty would like other municipalities to follow Richmond’s lead. The city has resisted opening up community centres, childcare centres, fitness areas, and some playing fields.

“That’s just the way we are. We have an aging demographic,” he said.

“I hope we all can learn from each other because we’re all in this together,” McNulty added.

Of 9,739 cases of COVID-19 in B.C. since the start of the pandemic, just 271 are in Richmond, including 14 in the past two weeks, according to fall modelling data presented by the province on Monday.

On Tuesday, a new study released by SFU found mandatory mask requirements in Ontario may have cut new weekly cases of COVID-19 in that province by as much as 25 per cent.

The study looked at the timing of indoor face coverings mandated over two months in 34 public health regions in Ontario, Canada’s most populous province.

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