Children’s Health Coalition: School masking should have stayed in place longer

The Children’s Health Coalition (CHC), an organization that offers support to children and families, says it had hoped that Ontario’s masking mandate would have remained in place weeks after March break.

Ontario laid out its plans to lift remaining COVID-19 public health measures, including mandatory masks and workplace vaccination policies, by the end of April. As of March 21, mask directives will end in most indoor settings — including schools and child-care locations.

The CHC thanked students and education staff for their commitment to masking and their diligence in adhering to public health measures throughout the pandemic but expressed some apprehension over the decision to remove masking policies so quickly.

“We know that masking, daily screening, cohorting and distancing have been tough, but adherence to these measures has allowed schools to remain open,” the CHC said in a statement.

“Since we know that most cases of COVID-19 identified in schools originate outside of school, we would have preferred to see masks kept in place for two weeks after March Break so we could have assessed the impact of the broader re-opening of Ontario.”

Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Kieran Moore, said on Wednesday that pandemic measures — such as cohorting and on-site symptom screening — would end in schools.

Moore says officials must still send rapid tests and personal protective equipment (PPE) to schools and businesses, and ventilation and absence reporting will remain in schools.

The CHC went as far as to encourage staff and students to continue masking as it remains “an important layer of protection as the pandemic continues.”

“Masks also protect those most vulnerable, including high-risk, immunocompromised and fragile children,” the CHC noted.

“With the removal of the indoor mask mandate today, for now, we encourage everyone to continue masking in schools, if they are able, to reduce absenteeism and support sustained in-person learning as a precautionary and phased approach as we come out of the Omicron wave.”

This is in line with what the CHC said on February 28, when officials released a statement saying, in part, “Masking in indoor school settings protects children and their families.” They noted that many children remain unvaccinated, which remains true.

“For now, let’s ensure kids remain as healthy as they can in schools by keeping masks on,” they said. “As soon as the evidence suggests otherwise, then alternatives can be considered.”

ETFO hopes decisions made are ‘based on science’ 

The president of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) expressed concern that lifting mask mandates in schools so soon would lead to another disruption to in-person learning and that the move is politically driven.

“In elementary classrooms right now, they continue to be overcrowded …and we’re working with a population of students where only 55 per cent of them have just one dose of the vaccine,” Karen Brown said in an interview with CityNews 680.

“We’re hoping that this government is making these decisions based on science and not based on politics or the ability to generate votes.”

“We’re very concerned that it’s a signal from this government that we want to say ‘COVID has ended’ when it hasn’t. The reality is we’re still dealing with this pandemic,” Brown added.

Moore did acknowledge that mandatory masking would be once again enforced if public health trends were to worsen — something the CHC approves of, in addition to making rapid tests “broadly available.”

“We may have to, and would encourage, a return to universal masking when there is a surge in cases that put children and their families at risk,” the CHC said.

Some health officials in the province expressed dismay over the government’s announcement to remove mask mandates, particularly in schools.

A critical care physician at the University Health Network (UHN), Kali Barrett, says it’s not the time for such a move.

“Children <5 [are] not vaxxed. Insufficient numbers of children 6-12 vaxxed. Highly transmissible variant. Non-zero risk to children. Unknown long COVID risks. Many high risks [are] not boosted. Masks work to protect individuals and those around [them]. It’s not time,” Barrett said.

By April 27, masks will no longer be required in long-term care homes, retirement homes, healthcare settings, jails, shelters, congregate living environments, and public transit.