Calling for mandatory masks in schools when children return in September
Students are set to return to classes in September, without a requirement to wear masks at school.
Some parents and pediatricians are calling for a provincial mandate, to protect children.
“In the scope of understanding that children spend so much time indoors, in schools, it’s cautious and it’s protection to have these measures in place,” said Wing Li, with Support our Students.
The public education advocacy group is also calling for smaller class sizes and better ventilation in schools.
“We had to shut schools down twice… so moving forward, how can not we try to mitigate that,” said Li.
Public health measures are being eased and removed in schools.
“Masks have been proven to be very effective at decreasing COVID transmission in a number of indoor settings… with school being an indoor setting… masks are really an essential mitigation measure,” said Dr. Tehseen Ladha, a pediatrician and assistant professor at the University of Alberta.
“We also know that severe COVID is low risk in kids, but it’s not zero risk… we just need several more months of mitigation measures in schools to decrease the risk before that population becomes eligible for vaccine.”
Trials are underway to see if vaccines are safe for children under 12, but results aren’t expected for several months.
“If there is a fourth wave, and looks like there will be, it will largely be among the unvaccinated, and children under 12 are unvaccinated,” added Ladha.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending students up to Grade 12 continue to wear masks in schools.
“Right now we think that schools will have the option to choose what their school’s rules will be for their community, but that’s a patchwork,” said Li.
“A lot of them (parents) are disappointed that the government is doing nothing, it seems like, not even the bare minimum that we had last year.”
Some parents are waiting to see what case numbers are before deciding to send their kids back with masks or not.
“If the cases are high… I would say keep the masks going, but if the cases are low, maybe just go from there, take it month-by-month,” said Jessica Beaver, a mother of two.
According to Ladha, some parents against masking in schools are worried not being able to see faces will affect a child’s development.
“It’s been amazing to see how children can pick up on facial cues, even when half the face is masked,” said Ladha.
She believes that the greater risk to development would be if schools needed to be shut down again, due to COVID-19 outbreaks.
With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Touria Izri
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
Crypt near Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner could fetch US$400,000 at auction
A one-space mausoleum crypt in the vicinity of Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner will go on auction Saturday, when it is expected to reach between US$200,000 and $400,000.
This Toronto restaurant is no longer accepting tips. Here's how it's going
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff – tipping is no longer accepted.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Premiers not being truthful about carbon tax, Trudeau says while sparks fly in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Conservative premiers across the country are 'not telling the truth' when it comes to the carbon tax. Trudeau's comments came as fresh sparks were flying in Ottawa at a recalled House of Commons committee.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
What new auto insurance reforms will mean for Ontarians, if they get introduced
Ontario has among the highest rates for auto insurance premiums in Canada -- just below Alberta and Nova Scotia -- however, the introduction of an insurance reform in the provincial budget could soon lower prices.