Quebec public health chief defends ending school masks, says it's for the sake of socially vulnerable kids

Boileau said the province considers it a priority to abandon children's mask use at school for kids' social and educational needs, but that the risk is 'calculated' since so many kids have already been exposed to COVID-19.

That wasn't quite right, Public Health Director Dr. Luc Boileau said Wednesday. Actually, further study has suggested the number is more like three million.

Many of the uncounted cases were among children, he said, a vast number of whom were exposed to the virus during the fifth wave.

That's a key fact for the upcoming season, Boileau said. Going into a period of reopening, and especially with schools' March Break coming up, he said the risks the province is taking are "calculated."

Further exposure for children can be seen in light of how much the virus has already circulated, he said.