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As countries around the world reopen their economies and their borders amid the ongoing novel coronavirus outbreaks, governments are increasingly embracing what remains in some places, a divisive public health measure: mandatory masks.<\/p>\n
In Dominica, our National Epidemiologist, Dr. Shallaudin Ahmed, has warned that although at present, there is no evidence of community transmission on the island, community transmission of COVID-19 is inevitable if people fail to adhere to wearing masks in crowded areas.<\/p>\n
As a result, Dominica News Online (DNO) sought the views of members of the public on this matter. The questions posed were, \u201cDo you think the government should make the use of masks mandatory and should a penalty be imposed on those who do not comply?\u201d<\/p>\n
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Here are some of the responses:<\/p>\n
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Michael (Roseau)-<\/strong> “All man free in the Father’s kingdom. If we don\u2019t want to use a mask then\u00a0 nobody should force it on us.”<\/p>\nClaudette (St. Joseph)-<\/strong> “Your face mask protects you and mines\u00a0 protect me, so this really is needed for\u00a0 public health. Though I think some penalty should be in place for those who don’t wear their mask, I think the government shouldn’t be the ones telling us to use it. We should be looking at all the deaths worldwide and know that masks are important.”<\/p>\nMervin (Roseau) – <\/strong>“I agree to some extent that face masks are important but the government should not make it a mandatory use nor should people be charged if they don’t wear it. People die in traffic accidents every day and no one is enforcing the laws for seatbelts to be used in Dominica.”<\/p>\nFaith (Grand Bay)-<\/strong> “For someone to be walking around with a mask whole day, papa we will die in Dominica. The sun too hot for mandatory face mask. We doh get snow yet in Dominica. I agree we should put in in the store but we need to breathe when we out and about.”<\/p>\nChad (Canefield) –<\/strong> “Yes I think it’s about time government made wearing a mask mandatory. Our borders are now opened and some of the\u00a0 people coming in don’t comply with the Ministry’s request for at home quarantine. Yes I agree with them being penalized not only for not using the mask but for using it incorrectly because the mask was not made for under your nose or under your chin. We need to buck up in D.A.”<\/p>\nAlisha (Kingshill)-<\/strong> “This mandatory mask thing should not be applied because the government seem to have control over the situation.”<\/p>\nAnnette (Marigot)-<\/strong> “Good leaders lead by example. There are so many instances when the government and other officials are seen in public without their mask. So it should not be mandatory but I think they should lead and we the people will follow.”<\/p>\nLaura (Canefield) –<\/strong>\u201cIf a face mask mandate meaningfully lowers coronavirus infections, it could be valuable not only from a public health perspective but also from an economic perspective. This will substitute for renewed lockdowns that would otherwise be the government’s next course if action. A penalty would also be needed to reinforce that law if passed.”<\/p>\nMassacre (Mahaut)-<\/strong> “I think government should make mask mandatory because I’m a bus driver and all the time I see people come on my bus sitting close to each other and no mask. If I ask them to put on their mask they will get vex but if government say so they will. I also think they should charge those who don’t want to use the mask.\u00a0 If you know the mask helps to protect other people and even yourself why you wouldn’t want to use it.”<\/p>\nMrs. Abraham (Portsmouth)-<\/strong> ” With all this talk about illegal entry I think we’ve reached a point where the use of masks should be mandatory and persons should be penalized if they don’t comply. We don’t know who is sick or not so we need to protect ourselves to prevent another lock down.”<\/p>\nMartha (Point Michel)\u00a0 –<\/strong> “We can implement the use of mandatory mask but it shouldn’t be for one set of people. You enter the stores and the employees have no face coverings to protect themselves or customers. So it should be an all rounded thing and yes there should be a penalty to scare people into wearing the mask.”<\/p>\nShawn (Loubiere)- <\/strong>“I prefer to wear the mask than have curfew once again. So I am okay with wearing one in public. I also agree to penalty for those who don’t follow that request if the government is to make it mandatory because they are proving they don’t care if they catch or spread covid.”<\/p>\nVera (Colihaut)- <\/strong>\u00a0” I agree that the government should make it mandatory that we use the mask. I understand, sometimes masks can be a little uncomfortable. But the bottom line is that we know that masks reduce infections and they save lives. I also agree to some form of penalty because these are basic public health measures that I think should be implemented across the country. It\u2019s not that inconvenient. And if it helps us stay open and go to work and school and so on, it’s worth a little discomfort for me.”<\/p>\nWilliam (Castle Bruce)-<\/strong> \u201cI see no reason why we should have to wear mask. If the Government is saying the cases are under control and if so many people are allowed to host parties and do as they please, there is no reason why a mask should be mandatory. When we had local spread they never made it mandatory, so now there is no sense in doing so.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As countries around the world reopen their economies and their borders amid the ongoing novel coronavirus outbreaks, governments are increasingly embracing what remains in some places, a divisive public health measure: mandatory masks. In Dominica, our National Epidemiologist, Dr….","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":257717,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","footnotes":""},"categories":[11,77,235,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-257716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","category-homepage","category-homepage-carousel","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n