COCHRANE— The Town of Cochrane has activated its mandatory indoor face-covering bylaw.
The bylaw was enacted on Monday (Nov. 9) after 14 active COVID-19 cases were reported in the Town of Cochrane.
“It was inevitable. But I was hopeful we wouldn’t have to enact the bylaw,” Mayor Jeff Genung said. “But here we are.”
The year 2020 has been a stressful and difficult time for community members, he said, adding he hopes Cochranites will stop and think about those affected when talking about the mask mandate.
The conversation needs to focus on two things— Flattening the rate of infection and keeping people safe.
For him, Genung said, the most important aspect is that there are 14 people in the community who have been diagnosed with COVID-19.
“That’s 14 families and some of them are kids,” Genung said. “Hopefully they’re all going to be fine and get through this. But it’s going to be difficult. Even a good case of COVID is still stressful, it’s hard on you. You’ve got to quarantine, you’ve got to isolate, it affects your work, it affects your school, it affects your family.”
Genung was holding out hope Cochrane would be the one community able to escape from the virus relatively unscathed. But, he said, looking at neighbouring communities including Calgary, Chestermere, Okotoks and Airdrie it is not surprising to see the Town cross the 10 active cases threshold need to activate the bylaw.
“We were just this little island on the map of white, if you look at the map that the province puts out. We were the little white dot of Cochrane if you looked at the blue COVID watch cases,” Genung said.
As cases continue to rise the town is currently facing worse active case numbers now than it did at the beginning of the pandemic and this may be a frightening situation for community members.
Genung cautioned people to not panic and focus on being smart and actively helping to flatten the curve by following public health protocols and recommendations.
“We just have to weather through this together,” Genung said. “Nobody knows exactly how to navigate through, we’re just all doing the best we can.”
The activation marks the first-time masks have been mandatory in Cochrane since the bylaw was created in late July.
If Cochrane reports 10 cases or less for 14 consecutive days, the bylaw will be deactivated.
Since activating the mask mandate, Genung said, the Town has received a 50/50 divided in the reactions from residents.
“It’s a very polarizing topic and we’re getting both sides of the argument," Genung said. “I’m a little surprised by some of the, in my opinion, over the top rudeness about it.”
Masks have become a "touchy" subject everyone has an opinion on, he said, adding he is concerned people are losing sight of what matters— Keeping people safe.
When the bylaw was first enacted on Monday the Town received more than 500 comments by Tuesday morning.
The mandatory face-covering bylaw will apply to all indoor public places, including businesses the public has access to.
A sunset clause amendment is included in the bylaw to ensure the mandatory masks provision expires on Feb. 1, 2021.
Businesses will be encouraged to place signage created by the Town educating people on the use of face coverings when the use of mandatory masks is activated in Cochrane.
The bylaw does not include premises with enrolment or membership requirements.
Children under the age of five, those with underlying medical conditions or disabilities, those unable to safely place or remove a mask without assistance, those eating or drinking in public spaces, and those participating in fitness activities will be exempt from the bylaw. The temporary removal of a mask when necessary to provide or receive a service will also be allowed.
The basis of the bylaw is linked to the province's watch list which is based on the per capita number of cases. Because of this, the responsibility of slowing the spread lies with the actions taken by community members, Genung said.
“I’m pleased with how this worked out. We’re saying that if the community was to stay below ten cases then we would have to activate a mandatory mask bylaw,” Genung said. “It was really putting on the onus on every resident.”
He encouraged residents to continue helping slow the spread of the virus by practicing social distancing, washing their hands and wearing a mask if they choose.
He noted that prior to the activation of the face-covering bylaw many residents had already begun voluntarily wearing masks.
Face-coverings serve as an effective symbol reminding residents COVID-19 is still in the community and will be here for many months to come.
As the community continues to weather the pandemic, Genung called on Cochranites to remain kind and supportive of each other as they navigate the reality created by the virus.
“If we’re not careful here and we don’t start to make a dent in the amount of cases that we’re seeing it's not going to be an easy fix,” Genung said. “We’re focussing on masks and we should be focussing on humanity.”
As of Tuesday (Nov. 10), there were a reported 15 active cases of COVID-19 in Cochrane.
