Editor:
Masks, as we all know, have not been ordered mandatory by Dr. Bonnie Henry.
While they are mandatory in hair salons, and while other businesses have opted to make them mandatory of their own volition, many others haven't. That’s a really big problem, especially with so many companies now reopening and going back to business as normal.
No, we can't force people to wear masks if they don't want to, but if I work for your company, and I'm around coworkers, I'd expect you to have some common courtesy and wear a mask if we're going to be in each other’s presence, just as I would (and do) wear one as well.
I don't know what you do on the weekends when you're out of the office and who you're around, just like you don't know where I've been and who I see. To me, the risk of transmission is far too great for non-mask-wearing to even be a thing.
I've had plenty of friends also come to me in recent weeks, some of whom have health issues that put them at greater risk for developing COVID-19, who previously worked remote during the pandemic only to be told they had to go back into the office.
Some even have doctor’s notes stating they are to continue working remotely, but their bosses completely disregard said no. It's all fine and dandy if you want your staff to go back to work, but if you're going to make everyone return at once and not follow some of the guidelines set forth by WorkSafe BC, such as continuing to allow staff to work remote if they need to, or staggering the number of people in the office at once (i.e. having some work remote, while others are in the office), then at the very least, you can make mask-wearing a thing.
I wear a mask, you wear a mask, the risk of getting sick decreases. It's really not that difficult of a concept, and I fail to understand anyone who seems to think it is. What gives you the right to put me or anyone else in harm's way?
Plain and simple: It's selfish.
Brianne Amira, Burnaby
