In a recent board meeting, the Vancouver School Board became the first in B.C. to mandate masks for all students, expanding on an already in place Provincial Health Order.
The decision, unanimously approved at the board’s meeting on Monday (Sept. 27), directs schools within Vancouver to mandate masks for students in Kindergarten to Grade 3. This comes as an addition to the PHO which mandates mask-wearing for students in Grades 4-12.
During the meeting, trustee Barb Parrott addressed what she called the main reason for the K-3 non-mandate: the idea that K-3 age children can’t wear masks properly.
“I dispute that assertion,” Parrott said. “Parents teach children that age to do lots of things including crossing the street safely. That age can be taught how to wear their mask safely and they are.”
Parrott added she looks forward to a vaccine for children aged 5-12 in the coming weeks as the number of children 10 and under catching the virus is “significantly increasing.”
The mandate’s extension means now all students, teachers and visitors are required to wear masks indoors except while eating and drinking. Exemptions for the mask mandate include people who can’t tolerate wearing a mask for health or behavioural reasons or who cannot put on or take off a mask without help.
Changes are to be implemented over the coming weeks.
