That the obligation to wear a mask during outdoor activities came into effect Thursday, without fanfare, is a reaction.
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While many were still unaware, on Friday morning, that they had to wear a face covering when exercising outside, others were frustrated by this new rule.
Here’s what you need to know about this new procedure:
Wearing a face mask or mask is mandatory during outdoor activities by two or more people who do not reside at the same address.
This procedure applies in the red and orange areas and in areas where emergency measures are applied.
However, some exceptions apply:
– People sitting two meters away can remove their masks;
– Those who engage in solo activities do not have to wear face coverings;
– Children under the age of 10 do not have to wear the mask;
– People with a medical condition are not required to wear a face covering;
– Elementary school students are not required to wear a mask during schoolyard activities;
Swimming and water sports do not require a face covering.
This announcement, which thus affects all those who take an outdoor activity, has a lot of reactions.
The basketball players TVA Nouvelles interviewed said they were unaware of the existence of this new rule and that implementing it seemed difficult.
“I can barely see five people playing with a mask,” says one of them. “It seems so complicated to me.”
One simply does not think that they can exercise in a face covering.
“If we had to wear masks, I think we would stop playing basketball because it is not possible, in my opinion, to play as a mask,” he says.
Still changing
At the end of Friday, the government again changed the rules surrounding the measure.
In an email sent to TVA Nouvelles in the morning, the Department of Health and Social Services indicated that the regulation applies to “groups of more than two people who do not live together and play golf, run together on the street, cycling, etc.”
“this is [obligation] It applies to everyone [qui] Engage in a leisure or sporting activity (including outdoor play, walking, running, playing golf, etc.) in a group of more than two people (thus 3 people and more) who are not residents of the same residence “, can we read in the message.
However, the new version of the regulation does not mention this statement.
“When a distance of two meters cannot be respected, at all times and for the duration of the activity, when there are two or more persons who do not reside at the same address. […]And he wrote in the update that wearing a face cover or an intervention mask is mandatory. “
This means that if the two-meter distance is respected at all times during the activity, it is possible to play golf, walk and run without wearing a mask.