Anti-maskers are causing a headache for local restaurants that are facing online harassment and in-person aggression for upholding COVID-19 safety measures.

Stephen Deere, owner of Modern Steak in downtown Calgary, said comments on their social media pages have spiralled in recent days with some calling for the boycott of the fine dining restaurant.

“Over the last 24 to 48 hours, it’s like there has been a full moon of some sort and people are just losing their minds now about having to wear a mask,” said Deere.

“Calgary has always been the hospitality of the west. Like, how we act at Stampede, how we treat visitors, how we help people when their cars break down — we’re known in Canada as such a friendly, helpful place. And now we’re doing this to our own people? I’m absolutely disgusted and upset about it.”

He said the threat of anti-maskers causing a stir at their restaurant is adding to the stress of his staff, who are already coping with existing anxiety of serving numerous guests in the midst of a pandemic. Deere said he’s coping but is afraid members of his team might quit if things get worse.

The restaurant is considering hiring security.

Other restaurants in Calgary are facing similar issues, some of which have turned violent. Deere said his friend Jason Shukuda, who manages KABUKU Downtown, had a group of men throw objects in the restaurant after being refused service without masks.

Shukuda did not respond to request for comment.

“This anger is so misdirected at hourly retail and hourly hospitality workers. We don’t make the rules,” said Deere. “I believe you can have your opinion about hating masks and all that but taking it out on the industry that are the ones following the rules is not the way to do it. Contact city council, contact your MLA, MPs and fight the ‘battle’ properly.”

Ernie Tsu, who owns Trolley 5 Brewery on 17th Avenue S.W. and is a board member with the Alberta Hospitality Association, said restaurants across the province are seeing these type of problems.

He believes the anti-mask movement is gaining momentum in part due to “contradicting” messages coming from Alberta’s top doctor and the provincial government but adds that the majority of interactions are positive.

In schools across Alberta, students are not mandated to wear masks while sitting at their desks and schools do not need to enforce physical distancing when students are sitting in classrooms.

Meanwhile, restauranteurs are following public health guidance in asking guests to mask up unless they are seating at their table and eating.

“That’s where public distrust comes from,” said Tsu.

“But at the end of the day, the public needs to understand that restaurants and restaurant owners livelihoods depends the safety of the general public. So if you’re going to refuse to wear a mask, don’t go to a restaurant. It’s pretty simple.”

Hinshaw said previously masks can be a barrier to communication and learning, which is why there are different public mask requirements for retail stores, or restaurants, for example.

Tsu’s message to Albertans who are against wearing masks is simple: Stay home.

“If you want to have the luxury of still being able to go out and have some normalcy then understand this is coming from medical experts,” he said.

“Numbers never lie. There is no emotion in numbers. The amount of cases are going up right now and everybody has to do their part.”

alsmith@postmedia.com

Twitter: @alanna_smithh

Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2020

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A Twitter thread posted this week by an Edmonton-area high school science teacher, which talks about how difficult teaching is during the COVID-19 pandemic, has attracted significant attention online.

“It just really sort of sunk in for me that this year going forward is going to be a very different year than we’ve ever had before, and for teachers, I think it’s going to be a lonely year,” Reuben Mahaffy said when asked why he tweeted.

Mahaffy said he is gearing up for a year where his students become his cohort, rather than his extended family, and while he loves his students, that will be difficult.

He told Global News he sees about 200 students a day, and for that reason, he has decided to cut out his extended family from his personal cohort.

“We’ve been free to choose our cohorts and now we’ve had to remove ourselves from those family support cohorts,” Mahaffy said. “We have to do that because our cohorts are now the kids.”

1:38
Alberta records 1st ‘likely’ case of in-class COVID-19 transmission at school in Edmonton

University of Alberta psychiatry chair Peter Silverstone said the decision some teachers may make to remove family members from their cohorts could be a hard change.

“You start off one way and now you’re getting lots of risk you didn’t have previously and you’re going to have to cut down. That’s hard because it’s the change from what you did.”

Silverstone added the uncertainty teachers have faced amid online classes, along with a stressful return to schools this fall, could pile up for educators — especially because there’s no end date for the pandemic.

“I find this alarming because we are aware that this can have longer-term issues, that things don’t always bounce back to normal,” Silverstone said.

“Uncertainty and change, not being able to plan, is not good for mental health.”

For Mahaffy, he added that he is also discouraged when he hears Education Minister Adriana LaGrange talk about how her government has bent over backwards to make sure teachers and schools are prepared for the school year ahead.

“It’s incredibly frustrating for teachers when you hear from the minister that anything and everything to prepare for back to school has been done because it hasn’t been,” he said.

“We know that there are things that could have been done to make schools safe places. We know that just because bringing class sizes down to 15 students is unrealistic doesn’t mean we have to live with classes of 35 plus.”

In an emailed statement Saturday from LaGrange’s press secretary Colin Aitchison, he said the government was “committed” to school funding.

“Alberta’s government has provided school authorities with $250 million in accelerated funding for capital upgrades, including ventilation and HVAC upgrades, $120 million in increased operating funding, $10 million in PPE, including masks for every staff and student, and access to taxpayer-funded board reserves, which totals $363 million across the province,” the statement read.

“This, coupled with $262 million in federal funding, provides boards with access to up to $1 billion in additional funding to support COVID-19 learning environments.”

Aitchison added that many people in the province have had to limit who they see amid COVID-19 — not just educators.

“Few parts of our society have been left untouched by COVID-19,” he said. “As Dr. Hinshaw has said, COVID-19 is here for the foreseeable future and we need to learn to live with it.

“Albertans in all parts of our economy, including grocery store clerks, daycare workers, restaurant staff and nurses, have all had to make difficult decisions about how and when they visit their friends and families. This is the unfortunate reality of living with COVID-19.”

Mahaffy said that he believes the support of the community and colleagues will be key for teachers getting through the difficult year.

“I know that we are going to have to be really good at supporting each other and that we’re going to have to make use of Zoom and other virtual methods, and really make efforts to maintain the supports that we are going to need,” Mahaffy said.

“I was also heartened by the support that I saw from non-teachers on that Twitter thread too.

“A lot of parents and professionals saying, ‘Yeah, we have to support our teachers this year — because they are going to be asked a lot, and they are taking on a lot this year — and we need to make sure we are there for them.’”

–With files from Sarah Komadina, Global News

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(Bloomberg) — What’s buzzing on social media today:

Tributes flooded in on social media after the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the 87-year-old Supreme Court justice and liberal icon, on Friday. President Donald Trump tweeted Saturday morning that Republicans must nominate new justice “without delay.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s name is also trending on Twitter, after he said he would schedule a vote to confirm Trump’s nominee to succeed Ginsburg.

On Chinese social media platform WeChat, users in the U.S. rushed to post alternative contact information to avoid losing touch with family members and friends. The U.S. is set to curb its services on Sunday. Popular backup apps include Telegram, Line, and QQ. WeChat parent Tencent’s office collaboration app, recently rebranded as WeCom and not expected to fall under the scope of a ban, also gained traction.

Southern California was struck by a magnitude 4.5 earthquake late Friday night. Officials warned residents to be prepared for possible aftershocks, AP reported. Tropical Storm Beta will drench Texas, Louisiana with heavy rains.

Former McDonald’s Chief Executive Officer Steve Easterbrook, ousted in November over a sexual relationship with an underling, said he shouldn’t have to return his severance.

iPhone users are showcasing their redesigned home screens on social media, under the recently released iOS 14 upgrade.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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