'We need to let kids be kids': Copping, Hinshaw asked about masking removal in Alberta schools

Alberta's top doctor and health minister were both asked on Thursday about what scientific data was used to justify the province's decisions to lift mandatory masking in schools.

The province delayed returning to school last month after the holiday break because of the Omicron variant. At the time, in an attempt to make the return to classes safer, the province announced it would deliver 8.6 million rapid tests and initially 16.5 million pediatric and adult "medical-grade masks." The province then said it would deliver another 65.6 million masks for staff and students.

Some of those masks are being received now, although starting Monday, it will not be mandatory for students to wear masks in Alberta schools.

When asked by CTV News Edmonton on Thursday why the province is shifting the masking rules for schools and what has changed in the past month, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw deferred the question to the health minister.

Jason Copping said the change was prompted in part after the province looked at the measure and the "impact that it has and the benefits we get."

"We need to let kids be kids," Copping said, echoing Premier Jason Kenney's comments on Tuesday as he announced the plan to remove mandatory masking for students.

"We know that COVID impacts kids, that it tends to be less severe, they are less likely to get and transmit it, although with Omicron, it is a higher transmission rate than we've seen at Delta," Copping added.

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According to Copping, the province heard concerns that masks had a "potential impact on learning" and that there is a "mixed review in terms of efficacy." Other than the aforementioned statements, Copping offered no scientific data or information.

When asked if Copping's children will wear masks while at school, the health minister said he would be having that conversation this weekend.

"We haven't had that conversation yet," he said, adding that it would be up to them and their comfort level.

Copping asked Albertans to be respectful of everyone's level of comfort when it comes to wearing masks at schools.

"There are individuals who may have different levels of readiness to move forward in this regard, and they may have different levels of concern in terms of the impact on themselves or on others," he said.

"We need to be understanding about people in terms of the choices they want to make."

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Hinshaw did not get the chance to answer whether her school-aged children would be wearing masks.

'THAT WAS A DIRECT SCIENCE QUESTION'

University of Alberta health law expert Timothy Caulfield told CTV News that Hinshaw's deferral to Copping was telling.

"That was a direct science question," Caulfield said. "Hinshaw deferred that to a politician, which is really disappointing because you would want to hear the science from the individual who is the science expert."

Caulfield has since signed an open letter to the premier asking him to reconsider the change in public health restrictions he believes is too soon for Alberta.

"We all want these restrictions to be lifted, but we want to make sure it happens in an evidence-based manner."

Trisha Estabrooks, the chair of Edmonton Public Schools, said the district still plans to tell the parents of its 105,000-plus students that masks are encouraged because she's concerned there will be more COVID-19 cases.

“We're seeing a downward trend in terms of self-reported cases of COVID in our school but, to remove a layer of protection for our students and staff in the midst of not seeing high vaccination uptakes in kids five to 11 years of age, and not having even a vaccine for kids under the age of five, it may be at risk,” she said.

“It's too much too fast.”

Estabrooks said the government's masking announcement is a “nightmare” because many parents decided to send their kids to school in-person instead of enrolling them into online learning due to protocols such as a mask mandate that was promised by the school board.

“Parents have had a lot of faith in our back-to-school plan,” Estabrooks said.

With files from The Canadian Press