Masks or no masks? Calgary business owners cautiously transition and update policies
At HeadKandi Salon masks are no longer mandatory for staff or customers but that doesn't mean Calgary businesses are done with them.
“If our guests want to wear masks they wear masks, if they want us to wear masks, we wear a mask. We’re really going to take the lead of what the guests want us to do,” said Jereme Bokitch, owner of Butter Beauty Salon, Hedkandi Salon and Johnny’s Barber’s + Shop.
Jereme Bokitch, owner of Butter Beauty Salon, Hedkandi Salon and Johnny’s Barber’s + Shop.
Bokitch said they’ve been following provincial guidelines but even though the mask mandate is lifted they want customers to feel comfortable.
He said some barriers will remain, especially at the sinks and increased sanitation is the new norm.
“I think our team has done such a great job making sure that it's safe and it's clean and we're doing everything that we're supposed to be doing and we're going to just continue to maintain that moving forward.”
City of Calgary mask mandate, which was lifted July 5, 2021
The city repealed its mandatory mask mandate Monday. Under provincial rules, masks are still required on public transit, taxis and ride sharing services and in certain health care settings.
Business owners say it's been tough to make the decision on how to transition practically overnight.
“To be honest it’s sort of a live and let live approach, we want people to feel comfortable,” said Andrew Ferguson, owner, Kensington Wine Market.
Ferguson said staff or customers are no longer required to wear a mask at the store.
“Even though it doesn't maybe feel like the right time to just end everything, at the same time trying to mandate things moving forward is just probably going to create more problems than it will solve.”
WORRIED ABOUT BACKLASH
He admits while he does worry about backlash, he is hopeful there is patience and understanding.
“Whether our staff or customers want to wear a mask because it makes them feel more comfortable they're welcome to do that. What won'tbe tolerated is anyone judging somebody else for decisions they're making for their own safety,” said Ferguson.
Even though restrictions are ending, the pandemic isn’t over.
“I think that we are entering this territory of assessing your own risk tolerance and your values,” said Dr. Lynora Saxinger, infectious disease specialist, University of Alberta.
Dr. Saxinger said many healthcare workers who have been fully vaccinated continue to wear masks especially indoors and where ventilation is questionable.
“The times where I would highlight potentially still using a mask would be if you're in close quarters indoors with a mixed group of people and you're not sure of the vaccination status of everyone in the group so that would actually apply to a fair number of businesses that are fully open right now.”
Saxinger said it's especially important for people who are unvaccinated, children or anyone who may be undergoing cancer therapy or on immune suppressing drugs to continue wearing masks.
She said she plans to wear face coverings into the fall when more people will spend more time indoors and case numbers could spike.
“If we manage to get to vaccine levels and reduce transmission enough that we don't see any fall surges then I’d start feeling much more comfortable later in the fall, but at the moment, I'm kind of toe dipping a little bit and I think that that's okay.”
According to the province, 73.49 per cent of eligible Albertans, ages 12 and older have received their first dose of vaccine. Nearly half of eligible Albertans have received two doses.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.