Advocacy group calls for mask mandate to stay in B.C. schools

With most B.C. schools in the middle of spring break, an advocacy group is calling on the province to keep a mask mandate in place, rather than lifting it when students return to class.

In an open letter Monday, Safe Schools Coalition B.C. called on officials to "continue universal masking for staff and students" until the end of the school year. Under updated COVID-19 rules, mask requirements will lift in B.C. schools once they resume class after spring break.

"Education leaders must recognize that public schools are unique in this pandemic. Public schools are not a place where families and children can 'manage their own risk,'" the open letter said.

"It is not the same as choosing to dine indoors at a restaurant or go to a movie theatre with unmasked people. Children must attend school."

Jennifer Heighton with the coalition said the lack of a mask mandate puts higher-risk families in a difficult position.

“There are families that might be immunocompromised, families who are recovering from cancer treatment, there’s people living with elderly grandparents, or zero- to four-year-old kids who can’t be vaccinated yet,” she said.

“There’s a lot of families out there that are distraught over the fact that the mask mandate was lifted and said to be lifted after spring break because now they are faced with the choice of well, do I send my child to school where there will be unmasked students and teachers perhaps and staff members when there’s still virus out in the community.”

Heighton said the decision to lift the indoor mask mandate in schools came as a surprise.

“The classrooms are crowded, the class sizes mean that you can’t distance. The maximum spacing that you can get between desks is often about one metre,” she said, and added the move also comes at a time when the new BA.2 variant is circulating.

“So this means that we need those extra layers of protection. We should not be taking away masks, not just in schools but everywhere really. But schools especially because we don’t have the conditions to be able to keep the children safe when we’re in class all day.”

Heighton noted Nova Scotia is keeping its mask mandate for schools for another two weeks.

“Universal mask wearing is something that should not have been politicized. It should be, this is something that we do in order to keep everybody safe,” she said. “The variants that are circulating are not getting less transmissible, they’re getting more transmissible...we need to adjust to the virus. It’s not what we want, it’s what we need to do.” 

B.C. health officials announced changes to COVID-19 measures on March 10. At the time, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said B.C. was in a place where it could "adjust" its response to the pandemic. 

"With the science and the data top of mind, it clearly shows that our risks now are much lower," Henry said when the changes were announced. "They're not zero, and we're not fully out of this yet, but I feel confident that we can safely make some further changes."

The mask mandate for indoor public spaces lifted the day after that announcement, and the changes apply for students and educators once spring break ends at their school.

Mask rules remain in place for some health-care settings, however, and individual businesses are still permitted to require face coverings if they choose.

The advocacy group, which includes parents and teachers, says first-dose vaccination rates among those aged five to 11 has "stalled" at about 56 per cent, adding that vaccines aren't available for those under the age of five.

"Public schools are supposed to be equitable and safe for all," the letter said.

"If rules can be set for peanut-free schools, so that those with severe peanut allergies can avoid exposure, then the same needs to be done for students who themselves or whose families face higher risk from catching this virus." 

BC Teachers Federation president Teri Mooring said the union is also concerned about the vaccination rates among five- to 11-year-olds, and added they have been calling on the province to launch an education campaign directed at families, and ensure easy access to vaccines, including at in-school clinics.

“I don't think enough has been done in order to raise those vaccination rates and they do seem to have really slowed down and really haven’t improved for some time,” she said.

“We anticipate that families will be travelling on spring break. We have low vaccination rates of all elementary children...all of those factors combined are definitely concerning, which is why we think N95 masks need to be supplied within schools.”

Mooring said while some districts have made N95 masks available, there should availability across the board, supported with funding from the province.

“Whenever you are in a situation where everyone is not wearing a mask, mask quality really matters,” she said. “We know lots of teachers and lots of students will continue to wear masks in schools and that needs to be respected.”

CTV News reached out to the Ministry of Education, which said it will not be commenting on the story Monday.