Update, August 13, 2020: Five days after the cards were introduced, Edmonton will avoid distributing them because others who needed an exemption “have so far had to get a map,” city staff said in a press release. While the mayor of Edmonton, Don Iveson, said he had “some concerns/questions about exemption cards,” the 3,900 cards distributed remain valid.
After enacting an ordinance requiring citizens to wear masks in public spaces, the City of Edmonton now grants “mask exemption cards.”
The orange cards, which have been distributed in various parts of the city since last weekend, say, “I can’t wear mask or mask” and “Please give me 2 meters of space.”
While the cards are intended only for people who fall into the exemption categories, adding others who can’t wear a mask and others who can’t use it for physical or intellectual fitness reasons, the reports show they’re distributed so sweet to those who need it.
These are not the first “mask-free cards” to be noticed in Canada, however, they are the first distributed through officials in a major Canadian city and not through conspiracy theorists. Jon Dziadyk, a city councillor for Edmonton, said the mask exemption policy was a measure to lessen tensions after Edmonton’s Mandatory Masks Act took effect on August 1.
“Tensions are high and this regulation on mandatory masks is not intended to increase these tensions,” Dziadyk tweeted. “To relieve the tension of not having to wear a mask, the city of Edmonton will provide you with an official mask exemption card.
Some anti-masks are already satisfied with the percentage of network center locations within their circles and are extremely happy with how you can get a map without asking questions.
Masks and legal recruitment to use them have become the cornerstone of COVID-19 conspiracies, and many focus on the concept that masks are bad for you or are a form of government for people. In recent weeks, meetings aimed at pandemic conspiracies have taken place in Canada and the United States, and all have a detail of anti-mask sentiment.
In June, anti-masks began promoting mask exemption cards in Canada similar to Edmonton maps. The cards bore the Health Canada logo, forcing several public fitness agencies to report them.
YouTube’s far-right rebel media channel also offers unofficial “maskless cards” on its website, even sending an email to subscribers starting with the “Pandemic is over” line and purchasing a traditional URL to host the download. cards page. Lists Canadian cities that benefit from mask exemptions and for what reasons.
In the United States, an organization called Freedom to Breathe Agency began distributing exemption cards across the country. The U.S. Department of Justice was forced to respond after the cards used the agency logo and misspelled “poses” in June. A recent viral video shows a woman showing one of the cards to a branch worker and threatening to take legal action if she implements the store’s masking policy.
“Don’t be fooled by the dispute and kidnapping of the Justice Department’s eagle,” Federal Prosecutor Matthew Martin said in June. “These letters have the force of law.”
Most doctors approve of the use of masks and say that no harm from dressing in a mask is known. Recently, an organization of more than 80 doctors and dentists in British Columbia wrote a letter urging the province to implement a mandatory masking policy. In June, the Canadian Thoracic Society wrote in an article that “there is NO evidence that wearing an agrave face mask (cause an underlying lung condition'” is not there evidence that wearing an agrave face mask (cause an ‘increase’).
After a long downward trend, COVID-19 instances in Alberta have increased. On Friday, Alberta Health reported 134 new cases in the province, the largest buildup in a day in more than two weeks. Of the 1,125 active instances in Alberta, 329 are from Edmonton.
Follow Mack Lamoureux on Twitter.