Masks or no masks for the return of school in B.C.?
Once again, there's a push for children to wear masks in schools as the COVID-19 immunization rate for younger kids lags behind the rest of the population.
Jennifer Heighton with Safe Schools Coalition B.C. says the group is hearing from parents concerned that masks will be optional in the upcoming school year.
B.C. hasn't required masks in classrooms since after spring break, and the province insists transmission is low. The coalition is calling for universal mask protections, noting recent high rates of infection.
"If they're wearing a mask – and maybe they don't know (they're sick) yet, the symptoms haven't shown up – if they have a mask, then they're not breathing it out into the air," said Heighton.
CTV News asked Health Minister Adrian Dix about whether parents could expect a return to mask-wearing. He said new guidelines for schools were in the works, but suggested the province would take a status quo approach.
"We've moved from system of rules to a system of guidance," he said. "I don't think you're going to see a change in the approach we've taken in recent times."
The B.C. Teachers Federation had a look at draft safety guidelines for the return of school on Thursday. The union isn’t calling for a mask mandate, but rather, accessibility, according to president Clint Johnston.
"Our position is that N95 masks (are) available for those who would like them, but that they're readily available and nobody's having to provide their own to feel safe, comfortable at school,” said Johnston.
He added teachers were cautious, but excited for a school year that will look more like those before COVID-19. Johnston noted teachers want to see frequent cleaning and better ventilation as part of the guidelines.
For Heighton, another concern is the frequency of reinfections. She questioned what that could mean in the long term.
"Are you opening the door to more of that long-term damage down the road? Do we really know enough about this virus to predict that it's going to be benign?" Heighton said.
The health minister says more than half of kids aged 5 to 11 have one dose of vaccine. A significant number don't have a second shot. Those aged six months to five years have a vaccination rate of just eight per cent.
What could be a bigger concern is when COVID-19 cases collide with respiratory illness season.
Dix said health officials were meeting to plan for that period: November, December and January.
Heighton and other parents say aside from a mask mandate, they also want to see more work done to improve ventilation in schools.
The Education Ministry did not respond to CTV’s request for comment.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
An Ontario senior thought he called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.