EDITORIAL: Lifting of school mask mandate mystifying
Masks mandates in faculties in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island got here off Could 24, and for some dad and mom and educators who’re towards the transfer, the gloves have come off, too.
They’re elevating official questions.
What, precisely, has modified in Atlantic Canada previously few weeks to warrant dropping the additional layer of safety that masks present?
Canadians are nonetheless being hospitalized and are dying of COVID-19, and with solely 4 weeks of faculty left to go, isn’t it higher to be protected than sorry?
Whereas some public well being officers are recommending that masks nonetheless be worn in school, the truth that they aren’t required will make it tough to persuade some college students to maintain carrying them.
Dr. Andrew Lynk, the chief of pediatrics on the IWK Well being Centre in RisePEI — Atlantic Canada’s largest kids’s hospital — has warned that we will anticipate extra hospitalizations now that masks mandates in faculties have been lifted.
On Tuesday he tweeted a message to Nova Scotians that can resonate with many all through Atlantic Canada:
“To NS college students, dad and mom, academics & workers. There are tons of CoVID infections round. NS Pediatricians strongly suggest we proceed masking until college ends in 4 weeks. Shield yourselves, your classmates & academics, your dad and mom & household. Our healthcare system is strained.”
Whereas some public well being officers are recommending that masks nonetheless be worn in school, the truth that they aren’t required will make it tough to persuade some college students to maintain carrying them.
With out masks, not solely are kids extra inclined to catching colds and flu, they’ve a better likelihood of bringing COVID house to their households and contributing to group unfold.
In New Brunswick, the place kids haven’t needed to put on masks in class since March, the kid, youth and seniors advocate has really helpful the province revisit that call, saying there’s no proof the transfer was justified.
In Nova Scotia, when the choice was made in March to carry many public well being restrictions, together with limits on public gathering, the federal government determined to maintain the masks mandate in faculties as a precautionary measure.
That was good recommendation then, and it’s good recommendation now.
“The pandemic isn’t over. COVID-19 continues to be in our communities and for some, it stays a lethal virus,” mentioned Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s Chief Medical Officer of Well being. “Most provincial restrictions are coming to an finish however our wholesome habits mustn’t. It is best to nonetheless put on a masks whenever you’re out, get vaccinated, keep house whenever you’re sick, check to guard susceptible individuals and hold your gatherings small.”
Social media is abuzz with posts from annoyed dad and mom making an attempt to elucidate to their kids why masks mandates have been dropped of their school rooms, although they’ve spent the previous two years hammering house the message that it’s necessary to maintain carrying them.
Children being children, many are having a tough time understanding why the foundations have modified and are asking questions.
Maybe there’s a lesson right here: if kids are savvy sufficient to query the logic of this coverage reversal, possibly public well being officers and politicians ought to revisit it, too.
