PHOTO SARAH MONGEAU-BIRKETT, THE PRESS
“We don’t know what the epidemiological situation will look like in two weeks. Perhaps then the mask will be deemed superfluous. But maybe not either, ”writes our columnist.
It is now official, Quebec is facing a sixth wave.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
In the circumstances, it is permissible to ask two important questions about wearing a mask in public places, a rare measure that still exists in the hope of curbing the contagion.
First: was it really such a good idea to announce that this obligation would end in mid-April?
Second: when the mask is no longer mandatory, have we thought of ways to prevent those who wear it from being stigmatized by others?
Now is not the time for fear. We don’t get so excited anymore that the sanitary measures have fallen one by one. And that no one intends to propose new restrictions.
“There is no reason at the moment to change the strategy we have,” said Health Minister Christian Dubé on Thursday.
It is not heresy. There has really been a paradigm shift, made possible in particular by the successes of vaccination.
But did we really need in Quebec to announce, almost a month ago, that the wearing of the compulsory mask would end “no later than mid-April” in all public places?
And was Dr. Boileau right at the time to say he was comfortable with this announced change?
We do not know what the epidemiological situation will look like in two weeks. Perhaps then the mask will be deemed superfluous. But maybe not either.
Recently, Dr. Boileau has been more cautious. “Current circumstances prompt us to encourage people to maintain mask-wearing until April 15,” he said.
And at least one regional director of public health, that of Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine, considers it “likely” that the deadline will be postponed.
Clues that suggest that we were a little hasty in business in Quebec on the question of the mask. As we did last December by announcing that there would be family gatherings of 20 people in the residences during the holidays (and it was not the first time that we were made to play yoyo).
We do not question the content of the possible decision on the mask of Doctor Boileau. The problem is rather that he sought to offer us certainties prematurely.
On the other hand, if there is one thing that we can predict without fear of being wrong, it is that millions of Quebecers will drop the mask when it is no longer mandatory.
A recent Angus Reid poll also revealed that, of all the Canadian provinces, Quebec was the one where the share of citizens who will wear the mask indoors if the obligation is lifted (38%) was the lowest.
On the other hand, those who wish to keep it should not be singled out.
Everyone is responsible, it’s true. But we would also have every advantage, in Quebec, to develop strategies in this area now.
So far, the most effective initiative in this direction has come from a handful of health care workers and scientists, led by medical student Mathieu Nadeau-Vallée. They produced a short video to support Quebecers who will keep the mask to protect the most vulnerable and the health system.
“I will continue to wear the mask in public to protect the most fragile, including my immunosuppressed spouse and my daughter suffering from epilepsy”, declares for example an intensive care nurse, Marie-Ève Ménard.
Prime Minister François Legault is visibly aware of the challenge, since he has already made it known publicly that he will continue to wear the mask “for a while”.
But for mask-wearing to truly become a personal choice, social norms will have to change. And without significant awareness-raising efforts on the part of Quebec, it is hard to see how this could be achieved.