省首席卫生官Henry 博士 对强制戴口罩的回应

过去十个月，卑诗省民一直在灵活调整自己的行动以减缓新型冠状病毒(COVID-19) 在我们小区中的传播，这发挥了巨大作用。我们的行动有助我们的医院、学校及工作场所保持开放，并保护了我们所爱的人。

01

这些基本行动包括：与他人保持安全距离、清洁双手，以及在生病时留在家中。

此外，恰当地使用口罩是个人行为有助集体利益的又一个重要例子。上述每一个防护层都是为了对抗这个永不休止的病毒。

有人问，卑诗省什么时候才会有强制佩戴口罩的规定。

答案是：相关规定已经存在。恰当使用口罩的规定是企业及组织的新型冠状病毒安全计划的基石，亦已经是本省医疗护理设施的营运政策及其它公共机构重启章程的一部份。

尽管我们在新闻报道或社交媒体上也许看到过一些个别情况，但研究表明，卑诗省大多数民众在大部分时间里都在做正确的事。颁布一个在任何情况下都必须佩戴口罩的命令会为执法带来不必要的困难，亦会有人因此被污名化。

我们只需看看那些已经尝试实施这种命令的辖区的新型冠状病毒传播率，就明白这些命令本身发挥的作用微乎其微。我们也清楚，一旦实施命令及进行罚款，往往成为目标的是被种族化的群体、贫困人士或无家可归者。

02

每一天，我们都在继续对病毒及其传播方式进行更深入的研究。

当下，我们看到病毒的迅速传播发生在不戴口罩的社交聚会、某些工作场所，以及存在风险的室内场所例如集体健身活动中。颁布省首席卫生官的命令向来都是不得已的选择，我们亦正在谨慎地使用这些命令以应对最近的疫情。

我们现正实施的命令是对我们清晰明确的期望作出补充，即民众在室内公共场所例如购物商场和店铺内，以及渡轮和公共交通工具上佩戴口罩。

03

我们的命令还要求企业及工作场所必须有新型冠状病毒安全计划，这些计划必需包括：

设置屏障并佩戴口罩；

减少空间内的人数；

对工人及公众进行健康筛查；

以及提供洗手和清洁的设备。

雇员和顾客都必须遵守这些计划，企业亦必须为不能佩戴口罩的顾客提供虚拟、网络或无接触的替代服务。新型冠状病毒安全计划是可执行的，企业和工作场所亦已经按命令制定并实施计划。

04

我们知道，当民众理解我们实施这些命令背后的原因，亦拥有他们所需的工具时，他们都希望做正确的事。

使用口罩非常重要，我们亦需要每个人理解我们的期望。佩戴口罩不能消除所有风险，但它是保护我们、我们的亲人及小区的其中一个重要的保护层。现在，我们比任何时候都需要采取这一措施。

命令永远无法代替承诺。我们需要对自己的行为负责——这是我们团结在一起的方式。我佩戴口罩，亦期望每一位可以佩戴口罩的人士也这么做。

英文版本

By Dr. Bonnie Henry
Provincial Health Officer

VICTORIA - British Columbians have been nimble in adapting their individual actions to slow the spread of COVID-19 in our communities over the last ten months, and it has had a big impact.

Our actions have helped keep our hospitals, schools and workplaces open - and protect the ones we love.

Such essential actions include maintaining a safe distance from others, cleaning our hands and staying home if we get sick. Using masks appropriately is another important example of an individual act that results in a collective good. Each of these is a layer of protection to guard against a virus that never rests.

Some people are asking when we will see masks mandated in B.C. The answer is that they already are. The mandate to use masks appropriately is a cornerstone of businesses' and organizations' COVID-19 safety plans, and is embedded in our health-care facilities' operational policies and restart protocols in other public institutions.

Despite how it might appear when we watch the news or go on social media, research shows that most of us in B.C. are doing the right things most of the time. Ordering universal mask use in all situations creates unnecessary challenges with enforcement and stigmatization. We need only look at the COVID-19 transmission rates in other jurisdictions that have tried using such orders to see what little benefit these orders by themselves have served. We also know that when orders and fines are in place, it is racialized people and those living in poverty or homeless who are most often targeted.

Each day, we are continuing to learn more about the virus and how it spreads. Right now, we are seeing rapid transmission in social gatherings where masks would not be worn anyway, in certain workplaces and risky indoor settings, like group fitness activities. Provincial health officer orders are always a last resort and we have used them carefully to address these recent trends.

The orders we have in place now complement our clear and expressed expectation that people will wear masks in indoor public places like shopping malls, stores, on ferries and transit.

Our orders also mandate that businesses and workplaces must have COVID-19 safety plans in place. These should include mask wearing, in addition to barriers, reduced numbers of people in spaces, screening of workers and the public and availability of hand cleaning and sanitation. Staff and customers must abide by these plans and businesses must offer virtual, online or contactless alternatives to customers who cannot wear a mask. COVID-19 safety plans are enforceable and something businesses and workplaces now plan for and have in place, in accordance with our orders.

We know that people want to do the right thing when they understand the reasons behind our thinking and have the tools they need to do what is asked of them. Mask use is important, and we need everyone to have the same understanding of our expectations. Wearing a mask will never eliminate all risks, but it is a significant part of the layers of protection that can help protect us, our loved ones and our community. Now more than ever, it is a measure we must all take.

An order can never replace our personal commitment. We need to be responsible for our own actions - that is how we all pull together. I wear a mask, and I expect each of you who can to wear one too.

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