Brantford City Council approves Mandatory Face Coverings By-law
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BRANTFORD, ON – At their Special City Council meeting held virtually this evening, Brantford City Council approved a Mandatory Face Coverings By-law that will go into effect beginning Friday, July 17, 2020. Under the new by-law, wearing a face covering will be required in enclosed public indoor spaces in the city of Brantford, including all City of Brantford facilities and public transit. Council also directed that the duration of the by-law be reviewed on a bi-monthly to assess.
Based on emerging public health best practices, a combination of frequent hand washing, physical distancing, staying home when feeling unwell, and wearing a non-medical (cloth) face covering are all public health measures that when implemented together are proven to help contain the spread of Novel Coronavirus COVID-19.
COVID-19 is a respiratory illness. The infection spreads from close contact (less than 6 ft) with someone with COVID-19 through their respiratory droplets or touching our face with virus contaminated hands. Respiratory droplets can include coughing, sneezing, talking or even normal breathing. When a person is singing, laughing or talking loudly, the droplets can travel even further than 2 metres/ 6 ft.
What’s more, people may unknowingly pass the infection to others because they do not have symptoms (asymptomatic) or have not yet to develop symptoms (pre-symptomatic). The highest risk for infection is with prolonged unprotected close contact.
“As the city begins moving into Stage 3 of reopening this Friday, more people will be gathering, returning to work, moving around the city, and using public transit,” says Mayor Kevin Davis. “Naturally, more people in public at any given time will make physical distancing more challenging, and in some cases impossible. For as long as the threat of contracting COVID-19 is with us, we need to use absolutely every tool in our arsenal to combat community spread. Face coverings are another important tool to reduce the risk so I am very encouraged to see Council support this by-law. Simply put, the use of face coverings can help save lives.”
On Wednesday July 15th, the City will launch a comprehensive education and awareness campaign to provide guidance to residents and business owners/operators regarding the new by-law and how to access and safely use effective face coverings. For more information, please visit brantford.ca/FaceCoverings.
The City of Brantford remains committed to ensuring the health and safety of all residents by implementing preventative measures and public health best practices to reduce the risk of Novel Coronavirus COVID-19 community spread.
Stay Vigilant
The City of Brantford stresses that all residents and businesses play a very significant role in successfully reopening our community safely. Please continue to follow these important COVID-19 guidelines to keep yourself and others in our community safe:
- Wash your hands frequently, avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth, cover coughs or sneezes, clean and disinfect surfaces and stay home if you are sick.
- Practice physical distancing (6 ft apart from others) in public at all times and wear a face covering (non-medical mask), to reduce the risk of transmission in enclosed indoor public spaces.
Additional updates regarding City programs and services, and the continuity of services are shared regularly on the City’s Facebook and Twitter pages and at brantford.ca/coronavirus.
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Media Contact:
Maria Visocchi Director, Communications and Community Engagement
City of Brantford | Office: 519.759.4150 Ext. 5754 | mvisocchi@brantford.ca
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