Wear Masks or No Spanish Lookout Expo

Wear masks or no expo – that’s the message being sent to the Mennonite community of Spanish Lookout, who will be hosting an expo from March third to the fifth. Thousands of persons usually attend this event to take advantage of the great deals, but there is concern that area residents are not adhering to the mask mandates and concerns about safety. Today Minister of Health Kevin Bernard was asked about the protocols in place for such an event. He says that a team headed by Doctor Francis Morey has done a reconnaissance and the ministry will give the go ahead. But, only if everybody wears masks, including the organizers.

Kevin Bernard

Kevin Bernard, Minister of Health & Wellness

“I said to the people at Spanish Lookout when they initially wrote that we are not here to stop business. We are not here to stop any kind of activity that will help generate economic movement within in our space. But at the end of the day, we must do it responsibly. The S.I. speaks to the number of people that are to be gathered and if you need to request special permission then you come to the Ministry of Health and you get that permission, but with certain conditions. So before I even responded to say go out and let’s have a full blast expo. Initially we wanted to give the permission; we retracted that and said we need to sit with our medical team and get an analysis of how it is going to be, look at the layout, look at what will be planned and put in the necessary restrictions. And so that is what our team had gone out. What I got over the weekend was that it is workable. It is something that they feel at the Ministry of Health – well the team that went out there – can be managed with enough police presence, enforcement, proper spacing of where they will have their event.  At the same time, again I drive back this point; we must remember that it is the responsibility of those who organize, but at the same time the responsibility of us who attend. And, while you mentioned that the Mennonite community, I understand there is an issue there, but I think the guidelines we are sending them is that you must be wear your mask. So if you fail to do so, then we cannot have then an expo. You, as the organizer, must follow the rules we are telling you that we are setting out for this event to take place.”