Ford shoots back at school boards looking to extend mask mandate

Several Ontario school boards are looking to keep COVID-19 safety protocols such as masks in schools longer than the provincial government's March 21 end date, but the education minister signalled that may not be possible.

Toronto District School Board trustees voted during a meeting Thursday night to write a letter to the chief medical officer of health, the Ministry of Education, and Toronto Public Health to request additional time for removing public health measures in TDSB schools.

The trustees asked for a response by Wednesday, but a statement Friday from Education Minister Stephen Lecce suggested those types of requests won't be entertained.

"School boards in this province are expected to implement this cautious plan, coupled with the ongoing improvement of air ventilation within Ontario classrooms," he wrote. 

Premier Doug Ford was also asked about schools wishing to keep the mandate in place longer during a news conference Friday.

"Let me be clear to the school boards: they aren't medical experts. The chief medical officer is the expert," Ford said, adding that Dr. Kieran Moore has done his "due diligence" in ending the mask mandate.

"Follow the direction of the chief medical officer, plain and simple. That's what we expect and hopefully they do that."

That's despite the head of Ontario's science advisory table, Dr. Peter Jüni, saying Wednesday it was too soon to tell whether it's safe to end masking and that the table was not consulted on the move.

Asked if Ontario's decision to remove masking was a political one or a scientific one, Jüni replied: "Well, it's not supported by science right now because it's just too early."

Beyond the province's March 21 timeline, masking will still be "strongly encouraged," the TDSB said Friday in a letter to parents. "For the past two years, the TDSB has prioritized the health and safety of students, staff and school communities," the board wrote.

"As we move to a more sustainable, long-term approach to managing COVID-19, you are encouraged to continue with the layers of protection that make you feel comfortable."

Other measures such as cohorting and physical distancing are set to end on March 21, while staff vaccination policies are being lifted for school boards across Ontario as of Monday. 

The province had already stopped tracking COVID-19 in schools, and the TDSB said Friday that its additional measure of sending positive case notification letters to affected classrooms would continue to the end of March and then will be "reassessed." 

Instead of providing data on individual cases in schools, the province has been reporting the number of schools closed due to COVID-19 operational reasons — none were listed as of Friday — and the percentage of staff and student absences.