2 years into the pandemic, why aren’t all retail workers getting N95 masks? – CBC

Major grocery chains say they abide by all public health regulations, which don’t require N95-style masks

Jan 13, 2022

Since Omicron changed the nature of the pandemic, regulations to protect some workers have changed, too. For example, most front-line health-care workers in Ontario now have to wear N95-style masks, which filter out the vast majority of dangerous coronavirus particles.

However, many other industries that deal with the general public on a regular basis have been slow to adapt as quickly as the virus, leaving the people who work in them with less protection than they could have.

For the most part, grocery stores do not mandate the widespread use of N95 or equivalent masks, despite mounting evidence that cloth masks and other inferior options do little to slow the spread of the wildfire that is Omicron.

“I believe that everybody who is interacting in an indoor space should be in an N95 mask or equivalent,” said Anna Wolak, a family physician and member of a group called Masks4Canada that is pushing for more widespread availability and use of tools such as rapid tests and better masks for all.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/mask-n95-grocery-1.6311991