Dear Town  Council Members of Perth, Smith's Falls, Brockville and Rideau Lakes:

The question arises, should wearing face masks be made mandatory in public indoor places?  This would include all shopping centres and retail locations, schools, daycare centres, libraries, community centres, and more. 

I understand municipalities are currently under pressure from Public Health Ontario to adopt mandatory masking policies to control COVID-19.

I am an Emergency Room Nurse with 26 years of experience who is VERY concerned about the misuse of masks I see in the community and the infection risk posed by them. I tire of academics without real-world experience, lacking in practicality, that offer simple fixes like “reminders” to teach mask skills.; skills that take significant training and experience to master.

Not only does the misuse of masks increase viral transmission but they isolate mentally and physically impaired populations such as the hearing impaired. Also, many populations cannot wear a mask due to physical and mental issues.

Public health Ontario neglected to include ample, compelling top grades of research. This includes a May 2020 meta-analysis published in the CDC journal Emerging Infectious Diseases. This review examined studies from 1946-2018 and found surgical face masks don’t significantly reduce viral transmission and in fact, improper use increases the risk of infection spread. Several trials on masks in community settings, including a 2015systematic review found participants who wore masks had just as many infections as those who did not. A May 2020 review, also highlighted the transmission risk associated with mask use,  could not prove that masks do or do not prevent viral transmission. Scientific advice to the UK government also found inconclusive evidence in their review to support any benefit from community mask use.

Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center of Infectious Disease and Research Policy, has spoken out about the inadequate evidence to support the public use of face masks. In relation to the CDC’s recommendation of cloth masks he stated,

“Never before in my 45-year career have I seen such a far-reaching public recommendation issued by any governmental agency without a single source of data or information to support it.“

Despite this. Ontario Public Health has now sent out a polished guide to encourage municipalities to enforce mask use that barely touches upon the fact that there are significant risks and evidence gaps therein.

Furthermore, consider the argument presented by The Ontario Civil Liberties Associationwho requests the WHO retract their mask recommendation because they are based on inadequate evidence.

Also, the New York Times ran a recent article on the retraction of a dishonest paper promoting universal mask use that confirms the previous warnings of Dr. Michael Osterholm on low grades of supporting evidence. 

I leave you with the words of leading epidemiologists found in  April 2020, British Medical Journal who note serious potential side-effects of wearing masks who conclude: 

“it is necessary to quantify the complex interactions that may well be operating between positive and negative effects of wearing surgical masks at the population level. It is not time to act without evidence.”

Thank you for your very valuable time and consideration on this very serious matter

Rebecca Doyon  RN

Lombardy, Ontario 

PS. As you are aware, a policy must be reasonable and proportionate to the threat. That said, could you also please review this Charter Analysis report by the Justice Centre of Canada. For it presents questions that demand immediate answers as to why ANY restrictions, let alone masking, remain upon the citizens of Ontario. Such restrictions pose significant risks to the citizens of Ontario due to continued restricted access to surgery, no visitor policies and the risk of pushing people into poverty (a health scourge of the top order)

 

(Much of this information was collected and quoted from a colleague Cindy Gough RN, BScN, MScAH, CGNC, Toronto Ontario )