Parent advisory councils push for mask mandate as COVID-19 fears mount

Posted September 28, 2021 6:49 am.

SURREY (NEWS 1130) — Parents from several B.C. school districts have come together to write a letter to call for more COVID-19 measures in schools.

The Parent Advisory Councils from Vancouver, Surrey, New Westminster, Burnaby, and Sooke are asking Education Minister Jennifer Whiteside and Health Minister Adrian Dix to introduce a mask mandate for children from Kindergarten to Grade 3.

“We believe that younger students deserve the same protections from COVID as older students as masks are an effective safety measure to stop students from breathing in the virus, which we now know is airborne. We believe the existing mask mandate should be extended to younger children, with accommodations for those students who are unable to wear them for medical reasons,” the letter reads in part.

Under provincial health orders, only students in grades four and older are required to wear a mask, younger children are only “recommended.”

On Monday night, the Vancouver School Board became the first in the province to change its policy for masks for students and go beyond the province’s guidelines.

More details about the policy and how it will be implemented will be available “in the coming days,” according to the board.

In addition to masks, parents also want more enhanced contact tracing to ensure the chains of transmission and “we believe that teachers should be involved in contact tracing efforts.”

The concerns come as the Delta variant continues to spread, leading to a surge in cases and hospitalizations. In recent days many schools have reported cases spreading through classes, but the province and local health authorities have remained tight lipped about these possible outbreaks.

“Given the increased transmissibility of the Delta variant, we believe that rapid testing of students is an important tool for identifying and breaking chains of transmission. We ask that this government introduce rapid testing until vaccines are made available to younger children,” it said.

Children 11 years and younger cannot be immunized at this time. Both Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines are approved for 12 and older, and the provincial government is encouraging everyone who can get the shot to do so.

On Tuesday, Pfizer submitted its data on vaccine safety for children five to 11 to the U.S. FDA for approval, and will be working to get emergency authorization in the coming weeks.

It’s expected the drugmaker will do the same with Health Canada, which will then decide if it will authorize the use of the vaccine on youngsters.

The other concern for parents is the possibility a teacher could be unvaccinated. Currently, the province does not require teachers be immunized, something the B.C. Teachers’ Federation has also resisted asking of its members.

“We believe that a vaccine mandate for all teachers and staff will improve the safety of all students and members of the school community. We are aligned with teachers in this request, and we urge the government to quickly work with stakeholders to resolve issues around privacy and accommodations,” the letter reads.

For her part, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has long said that generally, schools were not significant sources of COVID-19 transmission. Studies from Vancouver Coastal Health found fewer than eight per cent of COVID-19 cases were acquired inside the school environment last year.

In Fraser Health, which includes the Surrey School District, 87 per cent of school-associated cases were found to have been caught in community or household transmission, and not from a school setting.

The COVID-19 Immunity Task Force says there is no greater risk to school staff getting sick from COVID-19 in a school compared to their community.

Submit a Correction

Accessibility Feedback