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.

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."

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.