VICTORIA — A third school district in British Columbia has announced its own policy extending a provincial mask mandate for kindergarten-to-Grade 3 students starting Monday.
The Burnaby School District followed the lead of the Vancouver and Surrey districts in mandating masks for all grades as concerns mount about the rising number of COVID-19 infections among children who are not eligible for vaccination.
The district says in a letter sent to parents Thursday that the Burnaby Board of Education made a unanimous decision on the change after requesting an urgent meeting Wednesday night with Dr. Ariella Zbar, the medical health officer of Fraser Health.
"Her assurance that masks are an effective layer of protection for all students when used in concert with other health and safety measures informed the board's decision to promptly implement this new mask requirement," the letter says.
"The board will continue to work with the medical health officer to ensure that health and safety measures in Burnaby schools are based on public health guidance," it says.
Daniel Tetrault, president of the Burnaby Teachers' Association, said the group representing over 2,000 teachers has been pushing for a mask policy since August for all students in every part of the province.
"We're hoping and expecting this will be a provincial mandate, so districts don't have to set their own K-to-3 mandate," he said of the measure that gained traction after the Vancouver School District became the first in B.C. to mandate masks for all grades.
"We've seen a number of young kids get sick with COVID," Tetrault said. "We've also seen young kids wear masks for the last two years, and they're very capable of wearing masks. And for those that have difficulties our teachers are able to help them in wearing a mask effectively."
A parent-led group called Safe Schools Coalition B.C. has also been requesting an across-the-board mask mandate, as has the B.C. Teachers' Federation, which began pushing for it in September 2020 for all 60 school districts in the province.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry imposed a mandate last March, but only for students in Grade 4 and up, and said this week that the face coverings provide one layer of protection in schools where physical distancing and improved ventilation are also important.
British Columbia recorded another 749 cases of COVID-19 on Thursday as it neared a total of 187,000 infections in the province.
Nine more people have died, amounting to 1,962 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
The number of people in intensive care has been rising and is now at 145, up from 142 a day earlier, with most hospitalizations among those who are unvaccinated.
The Health Ministry said 80.6 per cent of people who ended up in hospital in the last couple of weeks had not been fully vaccinated.
It said in a release that 81 per cent of eligible people aged 12 and up have now received both doses of a vaccine, but the provincial health officer, health minister and premier have called on more people to get immunized.
The Surrey Board of Education said Wednesday that it is working with Fraser Health to consider hosting vaccine clinics to raise vaccination rates.
— By Camille Bains in Vancouver
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 30, 2021.
The Canadian Press
