Mask Instruction for the region continues.
Doctor Paula Stewart, Medical Officer of Health, says the Face Covering/Mask Instruction for Leeds, Grenville and Lanark will continue as long as the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020 is in effect.
The instruction requires businesses to adopt a policy to ensure facial coverings/masks are worn inside enclosed public spaces/settings that are openly accessible to the public. Stewart reviewed the instruction at the end of September.
According to the health unit, the review has identified that the risk of COVID-19 continues in Leeds, Grenville and Lanark with an increasing number of people infected with COVID-19 since late August; and upward trends in cases for all neighbouring health units, particularly the Ottawa Public Health region. Research evidence supports the use of face coverings/masks for source control by decreasing the amount of secretions from the mouth and nose that enter the air around the person.
The health unit says research also shows that community use of face coverings/masks, along with additional COVID-19 precautions like staying home when sick, covering coughs and sneezes, physical distancing and regular cleaning, helps to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
“Local surveys identified that almost all business operators in Leeds, Grenville and Lanark and the public have complied with the Instruction, and many have contacted us directly to express their strong support for the Instruction.”
Stewart says preventing COVID-19 is a community effort, and using face coverings or masks in enclosed public spaces is one way the community can work together to protect each other and prevent the spread of COVID-19. Stewart adds she’s pleased that local business operators and the public have been complying with the Instruction.