New Brunswick’s interim Liberal leader says they would be in support of mandatory masks in public spaces if recommended by the province’s chief medical health officer.
Mandatory masks are expected to be a topic of discussion when the all-party COVID-19 cabinet committee meets Thursday.
“We need to be proactive and do everything in our power as citizens to minimize the chance of [the] second wave of the virus in our province,” said Roger Melanson in a news release Wednesday.
“If Public Health says adopting a mandatory mask policy in public spaces while the case numbers are very low could reduce the impact of a second wave here in New Brunswick and potentially avoid a second lockdown, we will be totally in favour of this decision.”
New Brunswick was forced to close businesses and schools when the virus first arrived in the province in March.
Melanson said a second lockdown would be “devastating to our economy and our mental health.”
“Right now, we have achieved a great balance between protecting public health and having the freedom to lives our lives in a somewhat normal way. If we want to continue going to restaurants and stores, benefiting from various services, and seeing our loved ones, we need to be proactive,” he said.
The province currently requires masks to be worn in public spaces when physical distancing cannot be maintained.
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