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POLL: Do you wear a mask in public?

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, opinions from health officials were varied on whether we should wear masks when going outside but that appears settled.

B.C. provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says wearing masks of any kind can help prevent transmission so long as you follow other social distancing and preventative measures: Keep six feet of distance, washing our hands, covering our mouths when we cough, and not touching our face or eyes. Dr. Henry had earlier said the concern with masks was that people not trained to wear them might fiddle with their face while wearing a mask, breaking that important rule. 

"Using a cloth mask does not give you permission to disregard physical distancing and self-isolation orders. Indeed, these, along with respiratory etiquette and hand hygiene, remain the key proven measures to stop transmission,” Dr. Henry said April 10. “Wearing a cloth mask or face covering is a matter of personal choice. It is another tool you can choose, particularly when maintaining that important safe distance can be a challenge.”

Now it appears wearing masks are going to be required in some places like Costco in the U.S., which is asking customers to wear them. So what do you think?


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Marshall Jones


News is best when it's local, relevant, timely and interesting. That's our focus every day.

We are on the ground in Penticton, Vernon, Kelowna and Kamloops to bring you the stories that matter most.

Marshall may call West Kelowna home, but after 16 years in local news and 14 in the Okanagan, he knows better than to tell readers in other communities what is "news' to them. He relies on resident reporters to reflect their own community priorities and needs. As the newsroom leader, his job is making those reporters better, ensuring accuracy, fairness and meeting the highest standards of journalism.