With the end of the mandatory mask scheduled for Saturday in the majority of public places, many users could forget or neglect to wear a face covering in public transport. The Société de transport de Montréal (STM) and exo intend to launch a “new offensive” with users and warn that they will tighten surveillance.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
“A new offensive is planned for the dawn of May 14 to remind that the mask or face covering is still compulsory in public transport. The approach recommended by the STM remains to rely on information and awareness,” confirms the spokesperson for the Montreal carrier, Philippe Déry.
Numerous displays and sound messages have already been warning users of the need to wear a mask for months, at the entrance to metros and buses.
France announced on Wednesday the lifting of the obligation to wear the mask even in public transport, starting next Monday. Quebec prefers to wait for a drop in community transmission before taking this step. In the metro and buses in Quebec, the objective is to remove the wearing of the compulsory mask “during the spring”, said in early May the acting national director of public health, the Dr Luc Boileau.
Mr. Déry also specifies that the “inspectors and special constables patrol [dans les] networks and can intervene if they notice that a person is not wearing their mask or face covering or is not wearing it properly”.
[Les inspecteurs] also have masks that they can distribute to customers. Our station agents can also provide them to customers on request.
Philippe Déry, STM spokesperson
For the time being, the transport company nevertheless says “continue to observe that a majority of customers wear the mask when they use” the metro and the buses. The group says it believes “this will still be the case after May 14”.
At exo, which manages commuter trains and a bus network on the South Shore, we will also launch on May 14 an “awareness campaign on its social media to remind you that wearing a face covering remains compulsory in transport. collective, despite the lifting of the obligation to wear it in closed places”. “This awareness will also be done in the field, where our employees will continue to remind users of the obligation to wear a face covering when they board our trains, buses and paratransit,” notes its spokesperson, Jean -Maxime St-Hilaire.
“Clear Communication”
For professor at the School of Public Health at the University of Montreal (ESPUM) Roxane Borgès Da Silva, it will necessarily be necessary “to continue to make people aware of the risks of not wearing a mask in an enclosed space, such as the bus or the Subway “. “The STM and all the other operators will have no choice but to impose fines if necessary, or at least to be very present on the ground, at the entrance to large metro stations, to show that is taken seriously,” she said.
The essence of the message, in fact, is that we must continue to protect ourselves in relatively closed places where there are still many vulnerable people, such as public transit.
Roxane Borges Da Silva, ESPUM
At the Jewish General Hospital, the Dr Matthew Oughton, an infectious disease specialist, agrees. “We need a clear and direct communication campaign so that people understand the need to continue to wear the mask, which will remain a valuable tool in public transport in the coming weeks,” he explains. in interview.
“I think that a combination of marketing and communication, with the help of specialists such as sociologists, for example, could make it possible to deliver the right message to as many users as possible, without provoking, but simply by informing”, continues Mr. Oughton, who recalls that the strong ventilation and the very dense character of the crowds in the metro make it a place “conducive” to contamination.
A call for respect
After two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, masks have become almost “familiar” for most Quebecers, remind the two experts, who do not see a “particular urgency” in removing them from public transport.
“Even if wearing a mask is no longer compulsory in public places, that does not mean that there is a ban on using it. It will rather be optional, ”warned the Dr Luc Boileau, at the beginning of May.
We can of course wear [le masque] out of personal choice or out of concern to protect others.
The Dr Luc Boileau, Acting National Director of Public Health
By email, the Ministry of Health and Social Services also recalls that “the choice to wear the mask in places where it is no longer compulsory remains at the discretion of each person”. The spokesperson for the Ministry, Marjorie Larouche, insists by inviting the population to “respect those who wish to continue to avail themselves of this means of protecting themselves effectively against COVID-19”, by wearing a face covering even in the public places.