At Monday night's council meeting, councillors discussed some of the recent COVID protocols that had come into effect in the city, with MLA Lori Carr also stopping by to talk about some of the province's policies.

After Carr had left, one of the last items on the agenda was what was being done in the city now that a mask mandate had fallen on many businesses in the province.

Citizens likely saw many of the city facilities adopt this mask mandate on Friday, though with the new rules many may be confused as to what they actually are.

Councillor Kirsten Walliser asked the city manager, Jeff Ward, to explain some of the rules that are around the city.

Ward explained some of the exemptions and rules relevant to the mandate, specifically as they applied to Affinity Place.

"Rod March and his staff over there are aware of the change in mandate, they have it printed out for anybody who would like to discuss that with them," said Ward, "We are expecting anyone who uses a public facility to be masked up while using them, there are exceptions, I believe with youth sports and recreational sports. They are fully aware of those mandates over there, so I'd ask for citizens to follow those mandates, those are provincial mandates."

Councillor Anthony Sernick also commented on following Regina and Saskatoon's lead, which he responded to by saying that Estevan didn't have a regional health authority like those larger cities do.

Councillor Shelly Veroba also shared thoughts on what people should do if they see someone without a mask.

"When we're using city-owned facilities, it would be nice if people didn't approach other people," said Veroba, "If you see someone without a mask on, feel free to approach staff or someone in charge to let them know there may be an issue because keep in mind, people aren't always aware that someone's exempt.

"I don't think somebody's on the walking path or somebody using a city facility that you see without a mask on should have to report to each and every person using that facility. I think we need to trust that the city has that in place, that the city will monitor who's using the facility and when."

The discussion ended with Councillor Walliser reminding everyone that there would be vaccine clinics at Estevan Public Health on September 22 & 23, with the clinics running from 12 to 7.