Those in younger grades in B.C. school districts should also wear masks.
The Surrey school district over the weekend announced it is implementing a district-specific order from Fraser Health that masks must be worn at all times for students in grades 4 to 12, even when students are in their learning groups.
The province on Monday then announced a series of sweeping new COVID-19 public health orders, which includes “Public health guidance for schools has also been amended to support and encourage students down to Grade 4 to wear masks while at school.”
Masks will be strongly recommended for those in K-3.
The decision to only mandate masks in Surrey was problematic for Delta teachers who have experienced multiple exposures and have had multiple approved WorkSafeBC claims due to COVID-19 illness, said Delta Teachers’ Association president Susan Yao.
“There is heightened concern particularly with the new variants, some of which have been in Delta schools. This is a regional problem, and parsing it school district by school district is not working. The DTA supports the important protection of mask for all students as an added layer of protection for students, teachers and staff in schools,” she told the Optimist on Monday.
The B.C. Teachers’ Federation in a news release noted teachers throughout the province are relieved to learn that the province has strengthened their position on mask-wearing in schools.
“Despite some vague wording, we have been assured by the Ministry of Education that today’s announcement equates to a province-wide expansion of the orders that were introduced in Surrey over the weekend,” said BCTF President Teri Mooring. “Our sincere thanks go out to the many teachers and parents who have advocated tirelessly to get this safety measure in place as an added layer of protection for teachers and students.”
The province earlier this year announced that all middle and secondary students and K-12 staff were required to wear non-medical masks in all indoor areas.
The only exceptions were when they were sitting or standing at their seat or workstation in a classroom, when there is a barrier in place or when they are eating or drinking.
Prior to those changes, masks were only required for middle and secondary students and all K-12 staff in high-traffic areas, like hallways and outside of classrooms or learning groups when they could not safely distance from others.
For elementary students, wearing masks indoors remained a personal choice.
Meanwhile, as Delta students headed back to school on Monday following the spring break, no schools in the city were on Fraser Health’s list of schools in the region that had recent COVID-19 exposure events.
The school district over the two-week holiday took the opportunity to add some additional safety features at some school sites including the installation of additional Plexiglass shields and new outdoor classroom areas.
