While there are no plans to mandate the use of face masks in B.C., the province’s top doctor says that could change in the future.

Dr. Bonnie Henry was asked about the use of mandatory non-medical face masks in the province, as other jurisdictions in Canada like Toronto begin to move in that direction.

“If we end up during the respiratory season with a surge, it may become more directive that we require people to wear masks in some indoor situations, if we start to see a lot more transmission in our communities,” Henry said. “But we are not at that point right now.”

She does recommend – as she has in the past – that you wear a mask when physical distancing is not possible.

“Right now, with the levels that we have right in our community, I don’t believe we need to go that enforcement route with mask wearing, but I certainly wear one when I take transit and when I go into stores, and I expect others will too,” Henry said.

“My concern and I’ve said this before, is there are some people for whom mask wearing is not a viable option because of medical issues, so mandating it makes it a challenge.”

Henry says while there is no need to wear a mask if you are out on your own or in your own vehicle, it is a good idea to carry one just in case you need to put it on, should the situation change.

“The focus needs to be on maintaining our safe physical distance and having that extra layer of protection to protect others when we can’t reliably maintain those physical distances,” Henry said.

She also reiterated previous statements where she said that while a mask is an important layer to keeping yourself from COVID-19, it doesn’t replace the other measures like hand washing and physical distancing, that have kept B.C. residents safe to this point.