Key Takeaways:
- Cerasela Tofan wore a blue face mask on the Metro this afternoon, although she was no longer needed.
- To combat the spread of COVID-19, the province imposed a mask mandate for indoor public venues and public transit in July 2020.
- Masks will be withdrawn from public transit in Quebec; the government announced ten days ago, a decision backed by the province’s public health specialists.
Despite the reality that she was no longer needed, Cerasela Tofan donned a blue face mask when she boarded the Metro this afternoon.
As of Saturday, masks are no longer required for public transit customers in Quebec. However, some Montrealers, such as Tofan, have stated that they will continue to wear masks for the foreseeable future.
“I believe it is too early to wear the mask in a metro or on a bus,” Tofan added. “As far as we can tell, COVID isn’t finished yet.”
In July 2020, the province enacted a mask mandate for indoor public venues and public transportation to halt the spread of COVID-19.
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Quebec became the latest province to repeal the face-covering mandate for indoor public venues in mid-May, and officials insist that wearing a mask will be a personal choice moving forward.
That’s why Jim Cooper’s choice to stop wearing a mask on public transportation was so simple.
“The beauty of the system is that those who aren’t sure or have health issues may keep their mask, and it won’t be a problem,” he said, adding that he feels safe riding public transportation without a mask because he has three doses of the COVID-19 vaccination.
‘You don’t deserve to be alive if you can’t survive.’
In hospitals, long-term care homes, and other healthcare facilities, where vulnerable persons are more likely to be exposed to COVID-19, masks are still required. Institutions for mental health are not included.
Aaron Ansuini, on the other hand, claims that vulnerable people like him are omnipresent and that eliminating one of the few remaining health measures is akin to telling them that they don’t count.
“This idea of survival of the fittest is quite distressing because it indicates that if you can’t survive, you don’t deserve to be alive,” said the young guy, who suffers from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. This multi-systemic collagen ailment limits his mobility.
Before the epidemic, few Metro stations were accessible to Ansuini as ambulatory wheelchair users. But now, he claims that even if he avoids taking public transportation, the risk of contracting the virus accompanies him wherever he goes.
“Even if I don’t ride the subway or the Metro very often, others with whom I interact do,” he remarked. “I’m at a higher danger in each scenario I walk into because of others who have [possibly] been exposed.”
The Quebec government stated ten days ago that masks would be removed from public transportation, a decision backed by the province’s public health officials.
The lifting of the restriction, according to Health Minister Christian Dubé, is “an important step” that “confirms the remarkable improvement in the epidemiological situation in recent weeks.”
While masks are no longer needed, they are suggested for vulnerable people and the elderly. Those who desire to continue masking for their own and others’ safety are urged to do so.
However, one-way masking does not provide as many protections in congested spaces, according to Ansuini.
Early in June, the province’s state of emergency was lifted. Although it had been in effect from March 13, 2020, Quebec has retained the ability to reinstate mask mandates until 2023.
Source: CBC News
