Construction workers wearing face masks are seen on duty in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, on May 20, 2020. The Public Health Agency of Canada made an official recommendation on Wednesday that Canadians should wear non-medical face masks. (Photo by Zou Zheng/Xinhua)
OTTAWA, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The Public Health Agency of Canada made an official recommendation on Wednesday that Canadians should wear non-medical face masks.
"If you can't predict whether you can maintain that two-meter distance, then it's recommended that you wear the non-medical mask or facial covering," Canada's Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam said at a press conference in Ottawa on Wednesday.
Tam said the agency will be posting the updated recommendations on medical masks online on Wednesday.
Before Tam's official announcement of the recommendation, CTV showed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was entering the Canadian parliament, wearing a black face mask.
"In situations where I am either walking through the halls of parliament or going to my office and coming in proximity to people, I've chosen to start wearing a mask," Trudeau said. "That's my personal choice, that is aligned, I think, with what public health is recommending. I think we all need to adjust to what works in our circumstances and keep safety at the forefront of what we're doing."
Mask wearing has been the subject of debate in Canada since the COVID-19 outbreaks months ago.
On the recommendation, Tam said public health advice is evolving based on the science and on steps provinces are taking to reopen their economies."We need to flexibly change our measures as we get more information."
As of Wednesday noon, there were 80,081 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 6,027 deaths in the country. Enditem
