City of Saskatoon makes masks mandatory for most employees

Due to spiking COVID-19 numbers, the City of Saskatoon is making mask wearing mandatory for most of its employees.

Starting on Tuesday, all employees must wear masks at their jobs, even if they're behind Plexiglass partitions or have physical distancing markers around them.

"Dr. Shahab recently shared that 1/3 of virus transmission has taken place in work settings," read a statement from Pamela Goulden-McLeod, director of Saskatoon's Emergency Management Organization.

"He strongly suggested that now is the time for workplaces to revisit their COVID protocols, and update their health and safety plans."

As of Monday, there were 292 active cases of COVID-19 in Saskatoon, making it the most active region in the province by a wide margin.

The City was making exceptions for some workers. Anyone alone in a private space like an office does not need to wear a mask, and outside workers don't need one either, as long as they're two metres apart from their colleagues.

As well, workers behind approved barriers, like transit drivers, do not need to wear a mask.

While mask use is strongly recommended, masks are not mandatory for members of the public in city facilities, other than while riding buses.

The City reminded workers to follow correct hygiene practices and mask use regulations.

It's not known how long the measure will be in place for.