A passionate plea from Lac La Biche doctor Richard Birkill, the associate zone medical director for Alberta Health Services, at today's Lac La Biche County council meeting is calling on councillors to re-think a recent decision that voted down a mandatory municipal mask bylaw.
Birkill's comments were made just hours before municipal politicians were slated to bring back the mask bylaw to vote on — and prior to a province-wide announcement expected to include further COVID-19 measures coming from Alberta's Premier Jason Kenney.
At last week's council meeting, municipal council voted down a decision for a mandatory mask bylaw in a tight 4-5 outcome. At this week's meeting, a request to add the issue to the agenda was narrowly approved by a 5-4 margin. Plamondon-area councillor Colette Borgun, was asking to have the issue brought back after fielding concerns from residents and family for the past week. Borgun voted against the original bylaw vote, but has since heard a lot of feedback on that decision.
"I voted against the bylaw, not because I don't belive in masks ... but I've been pressured by many, many people ... from family and friends," she told council members on Tuesday morning before requesting to have the mask bylaw brought back for debate.
The item was added to the day's agenda, following some public input sessions where several residents offered their own feelings on the issue.
"Mandatory masks in the community is a no-brainer," said Birkill, the community's medical chief of staff who has recently back from his own two-week COVID-forced isolation."No one is getting hurt from putting a mask on their face."
Birkill was at the public meeting — admitting to be stepping out of his comfort level as a medical professional — to urge council to vote for a mandatory mask bylaw later in the day. Feeling the medical industry is fighting a battle with people who fear their rights are being infringed by mandatory rules, Birkill said rules for public safety are everywhere — and so are the statistics. "By not doing this, we are putting more and more people at risk."
In Lac La Biche County, those numbers and statistics are growing quickly, says the doctor, explaining that the municipality is now has the third-highest rate of COVID cases, by population, in the province. "And Alberta is the worst place of all the provinces."
The dubious statistics are leading the region to a very difficult place, with Birkill calling it a "breaking point" in healthcare coming in the next two weeks.
"We are running out of staff, out of beds and running out of capacity," he said, explaining further that as the caseloads increase, the amount of available respirators, beds and staffing will have dire consequences for some. "We'll have to start choosing whose lives we are going to save and whose we can't."
That kind of a decisions, he said, pales in comparison to one about wearing a mask to help reduce the spread.
Opposed to masks
While the doctors plea was to bring in a mask mandate, Lac La Biche County council also heard from an area resident who said she was opposed to the mandatory bylaw. Local resident Lisa Kappel said she believe being forced to wear a face covering gives people a false sense of security. Citing several websites in her research, Kappel asked council to stick with their initial decision.
Disputing some of the doctors assumptions and claims, Kappel said "true numbers" are out in the world — including what she feels is a high recovery rate — that go against mandatory mask use.
Council thanked both presenters.
A local nurse had also sent council a letter, signed by members of the community, calling for council to re-visit the mask debate. In her letter, the nurse said masks are proven to be effective for reducing the spread of the virus and protecting community members and health officials.
Two more doctors currently practicing in Lac La Biche County are now reported to be on a 14-day isolation after having close contact with the virus.
Waiting for Kenney
Expecting a potential answer to be coming from provincial officials on the mask debate at an afternoon news conference, Lac La Biche County councillors were continuing their meeting a the time of the first draft of this article. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney is expected to make further announcements at 4 pm. today.
