masks
Masking is a right
November 19, 2024By: Abigail Streifel, Peak Associate Content warning: brief mentions of genocide. We’re still in a pandemic nearly five years after the first outbreak of COVID-19, but some places in the US and Canada are criminalizing the use of face masks in public. North Carolina has passed a law that restricts wearing masks, the governor of New York supports similar restrictions, and university campuses in California have enacted policies limiting masks. Here in Canada, people in Toronto have been arrested for wearing masks while protesting. Each of these restrictions seek to stop people from “concealing their identities.” The bans present multiple…
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Masks should be mandatory in healthcare
May 22, 2024By: Yasmin Hassan, Staff Writer As of April 8, 2024, masks are “no longer required in healthcare settings” in BC. This decision comes after data showing decreased COVID-19 levels in the province. However, COVID-19 hasn’t suddenly become less dangerous, nor…
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Clean Air 604 aims to create safer arts spaces
March 12, 2024By: Michelle Young, Opinions Editor Clean Air 604 is currently fundraising to make Vancouver venues safer by “providing events with free masks, air purifiers, and more” in response to the lack of COVID-19 precautions at arts and culture events. “The…
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We need more supports for dealing with COVID-19
January 10, 2024By: Michelle Young, Opinions Editor Recently, Global News reported that BTNX, “a small rapid test supplier based outside Toronto, deleted dozens of specimens, or samples, from a study it submitted to Health Canada.” In turn, this meant these tests were…
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BC’s new masking guidance isn’t enough
October 17, 2023By: Michelle Young, Opinions Editor As of October 3, masks are mandatory for healthcare workers and visitors in settings that are accessible to patients, including areas where they receive care. This includes spaces like the rooms where doctors and nurses…
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BC’s first annual clean air festival promotes immunocompromised accessibility
September 14, 2023By: Eden Chipperfield, News Writer On September 2, BC’s first annual Clean Air Festival occurred at Trout Lake in East Vancouver. The event is supported by Protect Our Province, Safe Schools Coalition BC, Masks4EastVan, and Do No Harm BC. It…
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DoNoHarmBC protests the removal of mandatory masks in healthcare settings
May 15, 2023By: Michelle Young, Opinions Editor Content warning: mentions of medical ableism. On April 28, DoNoHarmBC hosted a non-violent die-in protest in front of health minister Adrian Dix’s office to protest the removal of mandatory masks in healthcare settings. The group’s…
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We need masks in healthcare settings
May 11, 2023By: Michelle Young, Opinions Editor As of April 6, masks are no longer mandatory in healthcare settings. As one of the only settings in BC to have pandemic precautions, the decision is needlessly harmful and irresponsible. It puts those who…
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Opinions in Dialogue: What it feels like to be disabled during COVID-19
March 31, 2023By: Olivia Visser, Opinions Editor & Michelle Young, Editor-in-Chief It’s been just over three years since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. Most people in the west spent around two years following COVID-19 precautions. However, many were eager to discard their…
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Dr. Sanjiv Gandhi speaks on COVID-19, public health, and preventive care
February 21, 2023By: Michelle Young, Editor-in-Chief “Scientifically and objectively, we’re really still in the midst of this pandemic,” said Dr. Sanjiv Gandhi in conversation with Protect our Province BC. “Emotionally, much of the population — I think to no fault of their…
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