Statement from Mayor Tara Veer, on behalf of City Council, on mask usage in Red Deer

“The mandatory use of masks continues to be a topic of conversation in communities across Alberta and around Canada as we all respond to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The Government of Alberta has indicated that they do not have province wide plans for mandatory masking and have left the decision to municipalities to make decisions based on their local situation.

The City continues to follow the number of cases in Red Deer and the Central Zone health region very closely. The recent uptick in cases in the region is concerning and serves as a reminder of the importance of following all public health orders to protect ourselves, our loved ones and our community. At this time, given current case numbers within the city, The City of Red Deer is not considering implementing mandatory masking in Red Deer, however this may be revisited at any time given fluctuating case numbers in the city and region along with direction from the Chief Medical Officer of Health.

We are asking our citizens and businesses to follow health and safety protocols on a voluntary basis and for the safety of others. Mask use continues to be strongly recommended, particularly indoors, when physical distancing of two metres from people outside your cohort group is not possible. The Province has made masks available in a number of places across Alberta, free of charge, and The City of Red Deer received masks to hand out for free to transit users. There are also masks available at City recreation facilities for scheduled users to help elevate voluntary public participation in City amenities.

Implementing a mandatory masking policy in public spaces needs to be considered with other health orders and in context with the overall local severity of the pandemic. The caseload in the region is absolutely critical to The City’s consideration of implementing a mandatory mask policy. As such, we continue to have discussions with other local leaders within the Central Zone health region to ensure our decisions are cohesive as we all access the same healthcare services.”