Get used to those masks, folks,we will be wearing them for a year, or more

Jeff Green | Jul 01, 2020

Mask wearing is the order of the day at all indoor commercial businesses, daycares and churches in Kingston Frontenac Lennox and Addington (KFL&A).

Last Friday (June 26) Doctor Kieran Moore of KFL&A Public Health issued an order under section 22 of the Public Health Act, prohibiting “persons from entering the premises of a commercial establishment or remaining in the premises if the said person is not wearing a face covering.”

Dr. Moore said this week that he had anticipated the need to declare such an order in September or October, but the outbreak last week at Binh’s Nail Salon in Kingston changed things considerably.

“I was surprised when I found out that over 500 people had attended the salon in just two weeks since it opened, that 40 of those customers were staff nurses at the Kingston Health Sciences Centre, and that 6 of the 10 - staff members at Binh’s Nail Salon then tested positive.

“It was certainly a wake-up call. Since then, there have been 31 positive cases stemming from that one location. That is how this virus wants to spread, it wants to double or triple in three days.”

This combination of factors led him to issue the order, which does not apply to children under 2, people with breathing problems, or children under 5 who resist wearing a mask.

If the threat from the so-called “Binh’s outbreak”  subsides over the next two weeks, Moore said that Public Health will consider amending the Section 22 order so that it will no longer apply to churches and child care settings, but he said that he does not envision lifting the order for commercial settings for “a year, or until there is an effective treatment or vaccine for the virus.”

The mask order should not stop KFL&A from progressing to stage 3 of re-opening if the current outbreak is contained and overall infection rate remains low. Stage 3 would allow most business to open, including restaurant dining rooms.

“Masks will need to be worn upon entry, and by serving staff, but once at the table customers will be able to remove the mask. Patios do not require mask wearing because the air flow is so much better out of doors than in confined spaces. It is about the rule of C; congested, close contact, confined, crowded spaces are risky and masks lessen that risk.”

Moore said that Public Health will be lenient with businesses as they apply the section 22 order to insist on customers wearing masks, “especially over the next couple of weeks as everyone gets acclimated with the rules.”

He added that the co-operation with public health directives from the business community and the community at large is one of the reasons that our jurisdiction, even after the latest outbreak, has an infection rate that is roughly 1/5 of the provincial average

Early this week, a second Section 22 order was declared in response to credible reports that two individuals who had been given directives from Public Health to self isolate, had been seen in social settings. The new order, which came into effect on Tuesday (June 30), allows Public health to levy fines for refusing to follow a directive to isolate.

The fine can be significant, $5000 a day for failing to isolate or quarantine.

Unlike the mask order, Dr. Moore said that Public Health will aggressively enforce the isolation order.

“We will not hesitate to levy fines for people who directly contravene our recommendation to isolate or quarantine because they have tested positive for COVID or have a direct connection to someone who has tested positive. The public risk from such behaviour is significant from such behaviour.”

While following up on all of the contacts from Binh’s Nail Salon, cases have been traced to two locations in Amherstview. Anyone who attended at Georgia’s Nails between June 12 and 25, or Amherstview Golf and Country Club on June 22, 23, or 24^th, is being asked to take a COVID-19 test as soon as possible.

In addition, all workers in the Personal Services sector across KFL&A are being encouraged to take a COVID-19 test at their earliest convenience. This sector includes: hair salons, barbers, nail studios, beauty salons, hair removal services, piercing services, day spas, tanning salons, and tattoo studios.

“This will have the added benefit of giving comfort to the workers in these settings and their customers,” said Dr. Moore.

Since the first Binh’s nail salon case was confirmed 10 days ago, over 3,000 tests have been administered in KFL&A, up to 650 a day. Just under 10,000 tests have now been administered in the region, which is over 7 times the provincial average.

All of the people who have tested positive for COVID-19 over the last ten days are Kingston residents, although with the Amherstview cases there is an expectation that a few cases in Lennox and Addington will be confirmed in the coming days.

That still leaves Frontenac County with no active cases, 12 confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic, and zero cases since early May, almost 2 months ago.

Meanwhile, in a related matter that Public Health Officials were not yet aware of at the time of a press conference with Dr. Moore on Tuesday afternoon (June 10) that  Kingston Police had put out a call for information after receiving “information one or more of these businesses that fall under the designation of personal care services may have been operating prior to the Government of Ontario’s Stage 2 reopening date of June 12.”

Police officials, “would like to speak to or hear from anyone who has first-hand information regarding whether any nail salons or other personal care services were operating on June 11 or earlier. The investigation would be focused on the business and not the clientele, so customers who attended and received services prior to the June 12 Stage 2 reopening date are also encouraged to contact police,” the release said.

The investigator in the matter is Sergeant Steve Koopman, who can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 613-549-4600 ext. 6186.

Dr. Moore said that enforcement of the contravention of the provincial emergency order, which is what opening such a business before June 12 would be, is a police matter and not within the purview of Public Health.

He did say that he doubts that there were may such cases, because even with one of the highest testing rates in the province the infection rate in KFL&A is one of the lowest.

(Editors note – the mask wearing requirement in commercial settings has now been taken up by the City of Toronto)