14 Alberta schools exempt from mask rules, use 'alternate' safety plan

Alberta’s chief medical officer of health has granted school-wide mask exemptions to 14 schools, the province confirms. 

Alberta Health is not identifying the 14 schools due to privacy concerns. 

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The ministry says the exemption from Dr. Deena Hinshaw comes with conditions. 

“A school needs to implement an alternate COVID-19 safety plan … that ensures all students, staff members and visitors maintain a minimum of two metres distance from every other person while attending an indoor location within a school.”

Schools must contact Alberta Health to seek an exemption though it’s not clear what criteria or standards are used to evaluate exemption applications. 

Individuals can seek mask exemptions based on a narrow list of health conditions. Those granted exemptions are strongly recommended by the province to “avoid indoor public spaces and circumstances where physical distancing is not possible.”

Masks remain mandatory province-wide in all indoor public spaces, workplaces and places of worship, and for all students in Grade 4 and up, plus staff and teachers in all grades.