Nearly four months after making face mask use mandatory on OC Transpo, the public transit system of the city is ready to start handing out warnings to people who are not following the rules.
Expect fines to be given out soon. In a press release from the City of Ottawa, OC Transpo will start “Operation Mask Up”. This two-week blitz is aimed at helping to “change the behavior of the small number of customers failing to comply with OC Transpo’s mandatory face mask policy.”
Face masks have been mandatory on OC Transpo since June 15, with exceptions for young children and people who cannot wear masks due to a disability or other medical reasons.
OC Transpo was the first transit agency in Canada to mandate the use of face coverings for riders and operators.
OC Transpo drivers do not refuse boarding to riders who are not wearing masks and will continue to allow riders without masks on the bus or train during the blitz. Starting Friday, however, the transit service’s special constables will be handing out written warnings to riders who do not comply with the rules and may ask customers not to enter transit stations if they refuse to wear a mask without an exemption.
A disposable mask will be handed out with the written warning under the city’s mandatory mask bylaw.
The City has recently been ramping up its enforcement of the mandatory mask bylaw, handing out more fines to businesses and individuals who do not comply with the order. The City states that fines could also soon be coming to OC Transpo riders who do not wear masks.
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https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/coronavirus-mask/art-20485449
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/about-face-coverings.html