BCCDC back-to-school recommendations laid out ahead of class return

The BC Centre for Disease Control is out with its “back-to-school” advisory for parents, students, and staff, but not everyone is impressed with what’s in it.

The BCCDC is recommending those who are able to get vaccinated against COVID-19, noting shots in general “are important tools to protect against many serious communicable diseases.”

“Schools are encouraged to share evidence-based information and promote opportunities to be vaccinated in partnership with public health and the local medical health officer,” the BCCDC adds.

Meanwhile, mask-wearing remains a recommendation only. Mask mandates have been a heated topic in schools over the past few years, amid the spread of COVID-19 in classrooms and beyond.

Related articles: 

• Canadian universities requiring masks are in the minority, says survey

• Vaccine-hesitant parents urged to ask questions, get school-aged kids COVID shots

• B.C. teachers highlight cost of living, wages in negotiations with province

“We do have so much more knowledge about COVID right now and what we’d like to see is some of the earlier stages that were in place around mask mandates and also around clarity of procedures for cleaning within the schools,” Jody Polukoshko, a public school teacher and member of the Vancouver Elementary and Adult Educators Society, said ahead of the BCCDC releasing its recommendations.

Students, teachers, and staff are also encouraged to continue practicing proper hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette, like coughing or sneezing into an elbow or tissue.

The BCCDC also says school districts have been working to improve ventilation systems and spells out that cleaning of high-touch areas needs to happen at least once a day.

“Any return to school needs to acknowledge that a return is not going back to normal, it’s not back to the way we were before, and that there still need to be additional protections in place for all staff and students in the school,” Polukoshko explained.

“What we were noticing was that when folks were away and weren’t always replaced that some of those cleaning protocols weren’t being upheld,” she noted of the situation prior to the end of the past school year.

Students, teachers, and staff are reminded to stay home if they are feeling unwell or showing symptoms of illness, including but not limited to COVID.