Parents and teachers want stronger COVID-19 measures even as B.C. mask order expands to all students
CTV
Starting Monday B.C. students from kindergarten to Grade 3 will be required to wear masks in school, as the province expands its mask mandate to all grades.
Starting Monday B.C. students from kindergarten to Grade 3 will be required to wear masks in school. The province expanded the mask order, originally aimed at students from Grade 4 to 12, following pressure from parents, teachers, and school districts.
The union representing teachers in the province has been calling for mandatory masks for months.
“We’re really happy it’s in place,” said Teri Mooring, president of the British Columbia Teachers’ Federations (BCTF). However, Mooring is disappointed the provincial health officials failed to make the decision sooner.
“At this time of year, it’s a change. One that you have to work with families around and that you have to work with children around,” Mooring said. “Had we started the school year with a kingergarten to Grade 3 mask mandate, it would have been a lot easier for primary teachers.”
Some parents are echoing that criticism, calling it an example of the province failing to take a proactive approach to combating COVID-19 in the school setting. Cases of the virus have climbed since the beginning of the school year, with students under the age of 12 still unable to be vaccinated.
“We should have focused on them and we should have taken the extra steps to protect them for as long we can, until the vaccines are made available,” said Rina Diaz, president of the Surrey District Parents’ Advisory Council.
While more kids wearing masks should help slow the spread of COVID-19, some feel cases of the highly contagious Delta variant will continue to climb unless additional measures are adopted. In Ontario, a province with roughly one quarter the number of active cases per capita compared to B.C., air purifiers complete with high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters have been added to thousands of classrooms, to reduce airborne spread of the virus.
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