Child and youth advocate to make recommendations on COVID-19 rules in schools

New Brunswick's child and youth advocate will make recommendations next week on the government's removal of COVID-19 restrictions in schools last month.

Kelly Lamrock says his office began an inquiry in late March into the government's decision to "remove certain COVID rules from schools."

"We have completed our draft recommendations and, following departmental replies, plan to release them to the Legislative Assembly and public next week," he posted on social media.

No other information has been released.

COVID-19 measures in schools, such as mandatory masks, were lifted on March 14 along with all provincial COVID-19 restrictions.

This will be Lamrock's first report as the independent watchdog. The former Liberal cabinet minister, who later became an informal adviser to Premier Blaine Higgs, was appointed to the position by the Higgs government in December 2021.

The report comes as the government faces mounting pressure to revisit masking in schools, as COVID-19 hospitalizations and case counts reach record highs, and as schools and hospitals struggle with significant staff shortages.

Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador both extended their school mask mandates this week until mid-May, while Prince Edward Island decided last week to keep mandatory masks in indoor public places until at least April 28.

More New Brunswick pediatricians have joined the call for the reinstatement of mandatory universal masking in schools for the rest of the academic year.

Earlier this month, 19 pediatricians wrote an open letter to Higgs, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Jennifer Russell, Health Minister Dorothy Shephard and Education Minister Dominic Cardy, describing a return of masking as "the most responsible course of action."

Dr. Alana Newman, a neonatologist in Saint John and one of the original signatories, says 40 pediatricians have now voiced their support, including general pediatricians, a developmental pediatrician, neonatologists and pediatric neurologists.

"It represents a majority of all of the pediatricians in the province and a very strong majority of all pediatricians that responded," she said. "So I think it's actually a very strong statement."

Newman decided to email 54 pediatricians across the province about their views after some people, including Higgs, had questioned why the original number of signatories wasn't higher.

On April 8, during an interview with CBC's Information Morning Fredericton, Higgs said: "I think there are 55 pediatricians in the province. So, I mean … it's 35 per cent or so, but it's still — there's a lot that weren't part of that.