I’m torn on mask exemption cards. While this wasn’t a decision of #yegcc, I know some have been asking me my thoughts. I have heard from different people who have physical or mental health reasons that prevent them from wearing a mask. Unfortunately, some of those people have
had some negative experiences at stores. That includes not being able to purchase some essential items. Having a card for people with valid physical or mental health exemptions is one way to help reduce those tension points for those who also want to access goods and services.
Obviously, the challenge is for those who will abuse this. I’ve seen the Facebook groups where there are some who will do whatever it takes to avoid wearing a mask. The bylaw was already designed to reduce the tension for those that cannot wear a mask but I saw those who
don’t want to wear a mask say, “all you need to say you have a medical exemption & people will leave you alone.” So since that small group was already doing what they can to avoid wearing a mask, the question for me is not whether this small crowd will take advantage of this
but rather if this will encourage more people to not wear a mask. My initial thought is that this will not result in fewer people wearing a mask. Most Edmontonians who are able to wear a mask, did that last weekend. Knowing that the vast majority of people want to take steps to
do what is best for the health and safety of their family, friends, community, and city, I don’t see most Edmontonians rushing to get a card because we know that not wearing a mask when we can is selfish and creates unnecessary risk for those that we love. Those who want to
ignore the science as well as the health advice from medical experts from Alberta Health were going to do that with or without the card. So if this can make things easier for those who truly are not able to wear a mask, I’m willing to consider this. Now if we start to see
compliance drop, then we will likely have to revisit this. If that were to occur, options such as requiring a doctor’s note to receive a revised medical exemption card could be pursued. I’m not sure of what the right solution would be but if we see compliance regularly fall below
what we saw on the first weekend, which was 80%, then we have to be willing to adjust. But I remain optimistic that most Edmontonians are going to do the right thing because that is our approach to most bylaws in our city. We support each other & right now, that support includes
wearing a mask for those that can. Very few people enjoy wearing a mask, I know I don’t, but I also know that in the short-term it’s going to help many others so I’ll do what I can and I’m hopeful everyone else will as well.
We just received some additional information about compliance rates for people wearing masks as well as the number of exemption cards issued. The compliance numbers still look quite good but we obviously need to keep watching that and adjust as needed. #yeg #yegcc
I’ll offer some final thoughts on the decision to stop issuing cards. At the start of this thread, I mentioned that I wanted to monitor the results before making a final judgement. I was encouraged with the early compliance numbers but after seeing how many cards were issued in https://twitter.com/cityofedmonton/status/1293660660056772608
such a short amount of time along with different videos and posts in Facebook groups, it was clear too many people were taking advantage of this card. I know our City Admin had the best of intentions to help reduce conflict & tension for those who do qualify for an exemption.
I’m glad they make changes quickly. One thing I’ve seen the last few months is a nimbleness that wasn’t always there. We shouldn’t expect perfection, because no one is perfect, but it is fair to expect that when mistakes are made, we adjust quickly and learn from the mistake.
In terms of next steps, if cards are going to be issued again at some point, a process to issue them should be based on feedback from groups like @AACyeg, our business community, and our experts at Alberta Health.
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