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After recovering from a cough, Calgary emergency room doctor Joe Vipond will return to work Wednesday to what will likely be the toughest ordeal of his career.

But the physician said he’s encouraged how the acceptance of face masks by public health officials — and Albertans’ behaviour in the face of COVID-19 — could improve casualty outcomes and medical workers’ safety.

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“This has been one of the most radically fast policy changes I’ve seen. . . Ten days ago, nobody was talking about this,” said Vipond, who’s actively lobbied for greater public mask usage.

“I’m really encouraged to see us taking this on.”

While the wearing of masks in public was once looked on with skepticism, “two or three weeks from now, you’ll be shunned if you’re not wearing one.”

Vipond said he agrees with the emerging view among health care leaders that face masks worn in closely confined settings can provide another layer of defence, along with hygienic and proximity precautions, while also protecting others.