City director of emergency management Merrick Brown addresses council on Tuesday as city manager Robert Nicolay sits nearby.--News Photo Collin Gallant
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant
After a heated debate to bring in a local mask bylaw in early December, Medicine Hat city council will allow it to expire on March 4, it was announced Wednesday.
At that point province-wide requirements to wear masks to slow the spread of the coronavirus may still be in effect, stressed Mayor Ted Clugston.
The absence of a provincial mask mandate in late November when cases were spiking raised the temperature on a local debate.
After hundreds of health professionals signed a letter asking for local action, a 90-day temporary bylaw was passed at a special council meeting by a 6-3 vote.
“We were waiting for the province to bring in a mask order … and we’ve said that we would defer to the province,” said Clugston on Wednesday.
He said the issue was discussed in closed session at council on Tuesday, with the decision being that the local order should expire.
“This is less confusing,” said Clugston, stating the provincial order legally overrides the local measure, even though the effect is similar. “Our feeling is that the province won’t remove (theirs) until things really settle down.”
Since early December when local cases peaked at more than 120, they have steadily dropped until early February when it reached the low teens.
There are currently 20 active cases in Medicine Hat.
During that time, people have been required to wear a face covering in public indoor places.
The provincial health authorities also put in strict capacity limits in businesses, closed others and asked people to work from home as much as possible.
Restaurants were closed to sit-down service, and bars entirely, but restrictions were eased earlier this month.
City director of emergency management Merrick Brown addressed the open council meeting on Tuesday, saying that while active cases are down in the South health zone, hospitalizations are up slightly. That measurement is paramount in provincial decision making on when restrictions will ease further.
“We’re very close to hitting that hurdle to move to step 3,” he said of future phases, but added that numbers will rise as the economy reopens.
“There’s a need to determine if we can sustain hospitalization rates. We need time and continued vigilance from all South zone residents to drive hospitalizations down.”
