OLDS — Masks give you COVID-19, a local natural health practitioner says.
Rick Kohut, a certified holistic nutritionist and biofeedback technician, made the statement during a special Olds council meeting Nov. 25.
The meeting was called to consider passage of a proposed bylaw that would have made masks mandatory in all buildings owned or leased by the town as well as in “public indoor spaces” or “public vehicles.”
In the end, council voted to table that bylaw, saying they’d like to wait and see what effect new provincial rules to curb the COVID-19 pandemic have in about three weeks’ time before deciding whether to bring the bylaw back for further consideration.
Kohut was one of four speakers who addressed council on the issue – two were for the bylaw and two were against.
Kohut listed negative health effects from wearing masks which he saw on a website he believes is a medical one.
He said those side effects are cough, fever, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, chest pain, sore throat, runny nose, headaches, loss of appetite and a high risk of bacterial lung infection.
Kohut added that while wearing masks, people increase the amount of “CO2, bacteria, toxins inhaled which are not meant to be recycled into your lungs.”
“So I ask, are you aware that these symptoms are actually identical to those of COVID-19?
“If wearing a mask gives you COVID-19, then why the heck are we wearing a mask and why the heck would we mandate something like that?”
Kohut said the wearing of masks not only causes physical problems but also mental issues and stress as the lockdowns and other measures associated with battling the disease hurt the economy.
Doug Mantai of Didsbury said he and his family do much of their shopping in Olds. He also argued against the bylaw, expressing many of the same concerns as Kohut did about how mask wearing can hurt people physically and mentally.
He cited several studies and reports he’d seen that say that aerosol particles carrying COVID are so small that masks can’t block them and that the wearing of masks doesn’t protect people from the virus.
Mantai said despite the fact that many people are wearing masks, infections are going up. He wondered why.
He read a notice on the package of masks that warned the masks aren’t guaranteed to protect the wearer from COVID.
“I am all for a protection. If these are effective, then use them. But there’s more scientific evidence that they are not effective. It gives people a false sense of security,” Mantai said.
He said masks also make it difficult, if not impossible for some people to communicate, including those who are hard of hearing.
“You are delegating those people to a silent, non-communicative world.”
Mantai gave the example of his own son who is so hard of hearing he’s almost deaf.
He said if people wear masks, his son can’t tell what they’re saying and therefore can’t communicate with them, even though he loves to talk to people.
“You know what he does now? He stares at his shoes because he doesn’t want to look at the people because he looks like an idiot because he can't’ understand what they’re saying because he cannot read their lips.”
Mantai cited research he said indicates that people can’t catch COVID unless they’ve been within six feet of carriers for as much as 20 minutes.
Two people spoke for the bylaw.
One was Dr. Darlene Donszelmann, owner of Chinook Veterinary Clinic in Olds and a member of the faculty of veterinary medicine at the University of Calgary.
Donszelmann said her seven years of training includes epidemiology, the study of how diseases spread and in viruses and virology.
She described the threat of COVID-19 as “very real,” noting Olds has a large population of seniors who are very vulnerable to the disease.
Donszelmann said at her practice they went to curbside service when the lockdown first happened and have begun doing so again lately now that the virus is surging again.
She conceded masking is a very contentious topic but urged those who are against masking not to take it out on young employees in stores who are often only making minimum wage and are simply enforcing rules made by management. Several councillors echoed that request.
Donszelmann conceded the issue of wearing masks is very contentious.
“But not making this decision the appropriate way is going to put us that much further into a pandemic and into danger for all of your family members as well.”
Chuck Howard also spoke in favour of the bylaw.
He said people have lots of freedoms, like gun ownership as well as the freedom to own and drive a car and the mandatory seatbelt use that goes with it.
But along with those freedoms come responsibilities. laws are in effect to keep others safe from gunfire or automobile accidents.
He said the same obligations follow when trying to protect yourself and others from the pandemic.
Howard said there’s a lot of misinformation about circulating regarding masks, especially on social media.
“However, it must be noted that every medical agency in the world now states clearly that masks are one of the most important tools that we have for controlling the spread of the virus,” he said.
Howard also said many cities, towns, counties throughout Alberta, as well as at least one regional municipality required their citizens to wear masks – if not everywhere, at least in public spaces.
“All of us would agree that masks are not particularly comfortable to wear. However, it is a small sacrifice to require people to wear masks for the brief periods of time they spend in public places in order to protect the people who live in, work in, and visit our community,” he said.
