Dropped mask mandates: Public-facing workers face hostility, health risks

A retail worker from Alberta, Ian Bowen, contracted COVID-19 two weeks after his province dropped its mask mandate. He believes he got sick at work.

The masks have come off.

Ontario has officially dropped its mask mandate for public areas, joining a host of other provinces and territories that have loosened their COVID-19 public health restrictions. As of March 21, only Quebec, P.E.I., the Northwest Territories and Nunavut still have mask mandates in place, though there are plans for those policies to expire soon.

By the end of April, it’s possible that no Canadian province or territory will have a mask mandate in effect, leaving public-facing workers with concerns about their workplaces.

For those who regularly interact with the public, the uncertainty of each unmasked interaction comes with an understandable fear.

Public-facing workers in provinces where mask mandates have already expired report feeling uneasy interacting with clients in a new, unmasked normal. For some, masks have been the standard at work every day for two years, so suddenly shedding the protective equipment can feel more foreign than the pre-pandemic norm.

“It’s hard to be around clients who are suddenly not wearing masks as we work closely with them face-to-face,” said Ivy Pomerantz, a hairstylist in Vancouver. “We have been conditioned for two years to wear the mask almost everywhere we go, but taking off the mask makes me feel naked and less secure.”

Ian Bowen, an assistant store manager, also found the transition to be tough. “I think it’s just because of how closely we interact with the public.”

He said most of his colleagues at a big box store in Grande Prairie, Alta., have had difficulty adjusting. (Alberta and Saskatchewan were the first provinces to drop their mask mandates on March 1.)