By Pepper Parr
November 23rd, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
There was nothing formal from the city. What we got was a screen shot of what a reader/reporter sent us
Screen shot of a city announcement sent out via Twitter
What is surprising is that if the wearing of masks is vital – why an announcement on the 23rd for something that doesn’t become effective until the 28th?
And why not an announcement that gets out to everyone and not just those who follow Twitter?
And why nothing from any of the city Councillors?
Troubling indeed.
The number of people seriously ill and away from their jobs for 15 to 20 days is increasing.
How much trouble are we in?
This tweet was absolutely from the Mayor. I was at the Senior Centre today and spoke to staff. This is definitely happening.
The reason for this mandate is because so many staff are getting sick that there is a problem providing services.
Billl, we have done our homework, by reading articles by many respected health professionals. Masks do work!!!!
bonnie and john,
You should show the people where you can prove the Masks work.
Hilda is right that mass do not work. Proof as followed.
Do you homework!
So why prior to the pandemic did doctors and nurses where masks when dealing with patients with known or suspected communicable diseases?
That tweet didn’t come from the City of Burlington – it was tweeted by someone named Andrew Collins. His Twitter profile says he’s located in Toronto…
For a little perspective, “Mandatory” masking and vaccination policies have been a reality in my workplace every day, twelve hour shifts per day, for 2 years. Mask removal only allowed when eating or drinking and social distancing must be maintained during this time. As you may have already concluded I am only one of your “heroes” in healthcare!
CITY staff should follow Dr Moore…no…not his advice but his practice…as he was recently seen at an event not wearing a mask.or they should all walk off the job. What a joke MMW
Is this enforceable? I doubt it.
Ted, we have just been through 30 months of a pandemic where mask mandates were imposed. Are you saying the City cannot do this at all, or a bylaw must be passed first, or can it be implemented under the previous emergency bylaw.
But as I have already questioned here, has the City said this. The tweet shown to a does not look to be from the City
Not a lawyer however it would be interesting to know if the City sought legal
advice before announcing this.
Hilda, could you please list some of the credible studies you have read that prove mask do not work, as I have read many that prove the opposite.
Please see: https://worldcouncilforhealth.org/?s=effectiveness+of+masks
There are over 100 clinical trials that examine effectiveness of a variety of masks.
Indeed, there are several reasons one should not wear a mask. Happy reading.
The provided link to the “world council for health” sure looks impressive. A bit of research turns up some actual facts – it is a slick consolidator of various forms of denialism including vaccines and masks, as well as discredited treatments like ivermectin. It claims hundreds of peer reviewed studies published in journals you never heard of. A great example that the internet is a swamp of deliberate information crafted to mislead.
First off, it’s a STAFF mask mandate, not sure why the City is obligated to inform the public. Secondly, it’s a decision made by Senior Leadership, not the Mayor, so not sure what Anne and Dave Marsden are looking for, other than to find something else to complain about – it’s an internal (organization) policy not a Corporate policy. Thirdly, this is what is posted on the Halton website, so yes, it does have the backing of Halton’s MOH and I’m sure the City’s labour relations person notified the unionS, not just those covered by CUPE.
In alignment with the Province, Halton Region Public Health is strongly recommending that residents use all layers of protection to help protect our children, families and health care system. These layers include:
Masking: Wear a good quality and well-fitted mask in all indoor settings including schools/child care settings, social gatherings and public settings.
If people read the newspaper or listened to the news, they’d see that hospitals, especially children’s hospitals, are begging people to put a mask back on to help mitigate the number of illnesses and the burden happening with our health care system.
Good job to the City for trying to keep their staff and the public safe. (Maybe this will help reduce sick time thereby saving taxpayer money.) More organizations need to show this kind of leadership.
Jake should we not be informed of the staff shortages and burn out that the Mayor stated today is affecting service to taxpayers so we can be a little more understanding when by-law officers are not around when we need them etc. The issue was not with the masking and was not a complaint it was the very poor way of communicating this very important piece of information. We stand by our positioh that there needs to be a significant improvement in receiving information that is important to the taxpayer. MMW and the City Manager could have put out a joint statement on Wednesday, If you remember it took the city a couple of months to tell us the Marina users had lost their insurance coverage which they thought we may be on the hook for and then failed to reference the date they knew by using the word “recently” rather than the date.
The Mayor was on CHCH on Wednesday morning news and never mentioned it – why? But for the tweet,we may not have had news of this change in policy, no matter how or who changed it. We personally will wear our masks forever. There is nothing wrong with trying to protect yourself and others by wearing a mask no matter who says what and as another reader said health care workers continue to be mandated to wear theirs. We should all do what we can to avoid getting sick or giving sickness to others in order to protect our healthcare resources for the unavoidable is the bottom line.
Please stop the incessant whining. We don’t need an announcement or a press release to know staff are under pressure and many are still off sick. Please just leave the Mayor and City Manager to get on and do their jobs
Wearing facial masks over the last few years have resulted in fewer cases of Covid, and Flu. Now we are also dealing with RSV which adults are now getting from their children. RSV in adults can be as dangerous and debilitating as the children who are infected.
Getting the Covid boosters and flu shots are also a part of the puzzle to keep people healthy. However, there are some people who cannot tolerate these injections and therefore rely on others to be vigilant.
I agree with you when you say that mask mandates are not always successful. I have to question why in the past people would not have to mandated to do the right thing? Now many feel it is an infringement of their rights.
When people who refuse to do something as simple as wearing a facial mask to protect others, if not themselves, I wonder how they would feel if they brought home one of these illnesses that resulted in the loss of a loved one.
It will be interesting to see what happens if someone refuses to wear a mask.
Are you sure the Tweet came from the City? It looks like someone else is Tweeting.
Very troubling indeed. This is likely the most important health and safety announcement to be made. Who made the decision and when is important to
be known. Does it have backing from the MOH and CUPE and last but not least how is the issue of those who for medical issues cannot wear masks being dealt with. It shows how much this change in Corporate Policy means to MMW as she failed to give it the time of day on her CHCH interview Hhmm more of the same of the last four years coming from the MMW led council?
Who called who in terms of CHCH Interviewing MMW on the new mask corporate policy this morning that MMW failed to disclose at her regular Wednesday interview. Absolutely no answers to the questions raised in our above comment. Same old MMW “Mayor My Way” for the next four years.
Since mask mandates have been proven NOT to work – there is a piecemeal approach. I think they are trying to placate people who are frightened and think masks work. However, studies have shown the contrary. People are free to wear masks whenever they wish (if that helps them feel safer).
ignorance claiming wisdom. me first with no respect for others. likely infection of TDS (Trump-Fox Denial Syndrome)