Lambton's top public health official is appealing to the public not to become confrontational over the wearing of masks.
Medical Officer of Health Dr. Sudit Ranade made the comment on CHOK (103.9 FM, 1070 AM) Wednesday morning with the City of Sarnia's mandatory mask bylaw set to take effect Friday.
"And I think that is something that everybody, even people who want mandatory masks, are trying to avoid," said Ranade. "I don't think we want anybody to be unnecessarily confronted over this, because we've seen incidents in Michigan, even in parts of Ontario, where those confrontations can lead to really unfortunate outcomes for people. What we've also seen though is that people by and large, thankfully, follow the rules set for them."
Dr. Ranade also expressed concern about large gatherings over the upcoming long Civic Holiday weekend.
"That's my primary concern right now, is the idea that because we have all of these things available to use in Stage 3, the inclination of people will be to start moving back into many of their social circles again. We still are supposed to be in social circles of 10 people."
Dr. Ranade said increased social interaction is a factor in the recent uptick in COVID-19 cases in Sarnia-Lambton.
The total number of confirmed cases remains at 299 but there have been 13 new cases reported over the last two weeks.
There was another resolved case over the past 24 hours and the death toll remains at 25 for a current total of 11 active cases.
The health unit said to date, 73 per cent of the confirmed cases have been in an urban setting, and 21 per cent have been among healthcare workers.
In its daily update Wednesday, Bluewater Health reported that there are no patients currently in hospital with the virus. There are 26 patients with tests pending including pre-surgical screening.
Ontario reported just 76 new cases Wednesday.
It's the first time since March 24 that the daily number of new infections has been below 100.
-With files from Sue Storr and Dave Dentinger