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By Shaun Penner

Given Issues Statement

Grande Prairie City Council to debate mandatory mask policy in early August

Jul 29, 2020 | 9:42 AM

Grande Prairie Mayor Bill Given has issued a statement in regards to whether or not City Council will be making a policy for mandatory face-coverings and masks in public spaces, while underlining that at this time, no decision has been made.

As some municipalities around Alberta and Canada have instituted a policy around face coverings in public spaces, Given says in his statement that council has heard from “a number of residents” who expressed their opinion on the matter.

“Grande Prairie City Council will consider the issue in early August, at which time we will explore all options while considering the state of COVID-19 cases in our region, risk to our community and provincial advice and requests received from health professionals like the United Nurses of Alberta.”

“I want to be clear: Council has not yet made a decision on if masks should be mandatory in public areas.”

The City of Calgary was the first in Alberta to implement such a policy last week, making it mandatory to wear a face-covering in public spaces amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The City of Lethbridge voted on Monday to institute a policy to make masks a must on public transit and in City facilities, while the Town of Banff has passed a bylaw requiring people to wear face masks in all indoor public spaces, on public transit and outdoors along a two-block stretch of the mountain resort’s main street.

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Given says that though the City has the tools to implement such policies if they see the need for it, he hopes residents of Grande Prairie will be proactive and “take the right steps” to limit the spread of COVID-19 without the need for government intervention.

“”Our individual behavior dictates the spread of COVID-19. It is very easy to believe the greatest risks are behind us, but we’ve learned from other communities how quickly the virus can spread when we each fail to act.”

The full statement from Mayor Given can be seen below:

Courtesy: City of Grande Prairie