Chatham-Kent's mandatory mask bylaw will be staying as is despite recommendations from municipal staff.
In mid-August, council passed a bylaw making masks mandatory across the municipality in enclosed space, with a few exemptions.
A staff report was brought to council for debate Monday night that recommended several amendments to the bylaw including:
-All operators of enclosed public spaces ensure the availability of alcohol-based hand sanitizer at all entrances and exits of the premises
-Even when wearing a mask, every person must maintain a psychical distance of two-metres from every other person that is not part of their household or 10 person social circle.
-A requirement for all persons to wear a mask while on public transit vehicles as well as while on public transit property including stations and shelters
However, council's vote on the amendments was split 50/50 and therefore it failed.
At the start of the evening, council heard deputations from several residents who were opposed to any additional regulations in the bylaw.
Councillor Steve Pinsonneault also spoke out against the recommendations and expressed concern that the municipality was getting carried away with the bylaw.
"Chatham-Kent is pretty much COVID free now," he said. "We're taking this bylaw to a new extreme. [For] several businesses within the municipality, its not feasible to meet the two metres separation in 100 per cent of the cases. We're affecting their livelihood. On top of that, our bylaw enforcement personnel, they're overworked, they're stressed at this time."
There was also a staff recommendation that masks be allowed to be temporarily removed during religious services when need be, but they would continue to be mandatory for all other parts of the religious service.
Councillor Michael Bondy made an amendment that asked for religious services to be exempt from the mask bylaw as long as physical distancing is maintained and masks are worn during singing.
However, General Manager of Health and Family Services Dr. April Rietdyk expressed concerns about allowing face masks to come off during religious services, noting that several cases of COVID-19 in the past few weeks have been linked to people attending religious ceremonies.
"When we look at the actual practice that tends to happen in most religious venues, things like singing, speaking loudly, those kinds of activities are increased in a faith-based setting," she said. "Masks are really there to protect respiratory droplets of those wearing them... those activities propel those respiratory droplets further than if were just speaking or sitting quietly in a restaurant and eating."
Bondy's amendment also failed 61 per cent to 39 per cent, meaning that masks will still be required at all times while at a religious gathering.
You can read more about Chatham-Kent's mask bylaw and the exemptions by clicking here.