Some Brandon residents are not happy with the mandatory mask rule. They say medical conditions prevent them from wearing one, and feel some local businesses are being too discriminatory by refusing entry or demanding a medical note.
We received this email at Q Country/Star FM News over the weekend.
“Personally I am exempt from wearing a mask for a mental health issue that results in passing out. I have a friend that has had a brain tumour removed and cannot have any pressure on neck or head without causing issues. I ran into a lady with severe emphysema on oxygen. She can barely breathe without a mask on, with it on is impossible.
In all three cases when going to stores and informing there is a medical exemption, stores are being belligerent and refusing service and or demanding to see a medical note proving such. Doctors have been told by the board of physicians that they are not allowed to write any medical exemption letters.
I have been reaching out trying to get in touch with somebody from the government or Health Canada, without any success. This is an issue that needs to be addressed as stores should not have the right to be demanding medical exemption letters, or being belligerent and down right nasty to those that are exempt.
To make this matter worse, I know some people who work for delivery services that are having these issues. They have been told by the general populace to stay home if they cannot wear a mask. In these cases how do these people provide for their families? Especially when they do not qualify for the CERB.
How can this be addressed so everybody is more civilized? Especially when the individuals who are incapable of wearing masks ARE keeping with the social distancing standards if not more so than others.”
Yesterday, we posed the question to Manitoba’s chief public health officer, Dr. Brent Roussin, about what the health authority can do to provide people with proof they cannot wear a face mask. Roussin said “right now at public health, we’re not requiring any medical notes for that justification – a private facility can certainly, within reason, restrict entry for certain reasons that they see as necessary. I don’t really have advice for what people do to go into private facilities, I just know that public health when enforcing this are not asking for actual letters.”
In its Medical Notes for Exemptions, the Manitoba College of Physicians and Surgeons says “Members must abstain from providing anyone for any reason a medical mask exemption either written or verbal in the absence of a justified medical condition or based upon information that is known to be inaccurate. Feeling uncomfortable or holding a strong opinion against mask wearing are not considered to be medical indications for exemption. There are very few medical conditions that justify an exemption from wearing a face mask and members should consult with the latest recommendations from Shared Health/Public Health regarding appropriate circumstances for an exemption.”
The full document is at the link below.
To be fair many Brandon businesses that have mandatory mask rules in place do have delivery options – and many take different forms of payment.
