Calgary city council has tweaked the city’s mask bylaw ahead of the holiday season, changing the threshold at which masks won’t be required indoors in the city.
In the bylaw’s prior form, when the COVID-19 case rate fell below 100 active cases per 100,000 people for 10 days, the mask bylaw is repealed. On Oct. 28, Calgary had 99.1 active cases per 100,000, for a total of 1,354 active cases. On Nov. 1, 1262 active cases were reported in Calgary, representing 92.3 per 100,000.
A motion from Ward 8 Coun. Courtney Walcott extended that period of time to 28 days.
He said the recent easing of cases below the original threshold coincided with the gap between Halloween and Remembrance Day. If the case rate remained below the threshold, the bylaw would have been automatically repealed on Nov. 8.
“We know that (Remembrance Day) is a large day for gathering and so I think this gives extra protection to many of the vulnerable individuals (who) will be attending those ceremonies,” Ward 11 Coun. Kourtney Penner told council.
“This was a good opportunity to be proactive in our measures so that we don’t really see ourselves, well, stuck,” Walcott told reporters.
Council approved the change on a 12-3 vote with councillors Chabot, Chu and McLean in opposition.
Motion co-sponsor Ward 9 Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra said it’s a forward-looking policy, hoping to create conditions that allow for households to visit one another during the holidays.
“If we get the math wrong, we could enjoy some mask-free time for a little while and then maybe not be able to meet with our loved ones over the Christmas vacation,” he said.
Carra said masks are a symbol and a measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“It’s not a panacea, it’s not a silver bullet, but it’s a very minor thing that we can do,” he said. “I support wearing a mask just as a matter of good citizenship, and I absolutely support it as a mandated thing when we’re trying to stop a fifth wave.”
Mayor Jyoti Gondek said the desire for families to visit each other during the holidays came through “loud and clear” from Calgarians.
“We need to make a measured decision of whether a little bit longer period of time with this particular restriction is prudent and will allow everyone to actually spend time with their loved ones over the holidays,” she said.
“One of the things that we’ve learned with our experience in this pandemic is that there has been this desire to lift restrictions very quickly and very prematurely. And what we have done is spiraled back down into restrictions as a result.”
Gondek, who was a councillor when the mask bylaw was put in place, said the pandemic and some reaction to it has been “incredibly unpredictable,” necessitating a flexible and adaptive response from council.
“We have been asked to serve in the best interest of Calgarians’ public health, and that’s what we continue to do.”