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Opinion: Reckless Burnaby workers barged into my mom’s home without masks

A former editor once told me to never write while angry and so I decided to wait a few days before assembling this column.
restaurant face mask masks
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A former editor once told me to never write while angry and so I decided to wait a few days before assembling this column.

I was speaking with my adorable 81-year-old mom recently and mentioned that I had just written a column about how our building’s strata forced us to allow a plumber into our suite to remove a garburator – putting us at risk from a stranger during COVID-19.

I was especially incensed that the worker kept recklessly pulling down his mask. (You can read about it here.)

“Oh, that sounds like what happened here,” mom said.

Her Burnaby seniors’ complex has been under construction for what feels like is a year and she said several workers had entered her suite recently and none of them were wearing masks.

Um, excuse me?

My mom, of course, is too nice to say anything to some big construction worker but she is now under instructions to not allow anyone into her unit without a mask.

I am now contacting Fraser Health and the City of Burnaby and anyone else I can think of to report this activity. After that, I will be paying a visit to the site to get details on who is in charge.

Imagine not wearing a mask around seniors, the folks who are the most vulnerable to COVID-19. Her entire building is seniors and earlier this summer, there was an outbreak at one of the buildings on the same property. I'm livid.

Since my column ran, I was also contacted by Nick, who lives in an apartment next to Metrotown mall. There’s a plumbing project also going on at his building and workers have been going in and out of his tiny, one-bedroom apartment shares with three other family members.

“It is very inconvenient and, on top of all the hassles, there are risks of COVID as I don't see they are following proper measures,” Nick said. “Sometimes, I think there is no law and order.”

I hear you, Nick, I hear you.

Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.