Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.

Image Credit: FACEBOOK/Province of BC

All kindergarten to Grade 12 students, along with all staff, in B.C. schools have to wear masks starting Monday as one more layer of protection against COVID-19.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced the new health order at a news briefing today, Oct. 1.

“Wearing your mask gives you superpowers and makes you superheroes,” Dr. Henry said.

There has been a growing number of cases of COVID-19 in school students in the past month, especially among those aged five to 11 who do not qualify for vaccinations.

Up to this point, only students in Grades 4 to 12 had to wear masks but the increasing number of exposures and outbreaks in schools have triggered the new orders, Dr. Henry said.

The number of schools in the Interior Health region that had potential exposures jumped from 15 on Tuesday, when potential exposures were first posted on the Interior Health website, to more than 50 today.

Dr. Henry did say that most infections happen out in the community and that schools are very safe places for children but that everyone needs to get vaccinated to protect the younger children.

Influenza cases are also expected to be higher this year and cause worse illness in children compared with COVID-19 so they should be getting vaccinated against that respiratory infection, Henry said.

"I ask workplaces to be more flexible to support parents so that they can get through this new few months as we navigate this phase of our pandemic."

The provincial health officer said a return to learning cohorts has not been considered because that approach caused significant challenges in the operation of schools when other strategies like reducing group gatherings and assemblies have been more effective in lowering transmission of COVID-19.

Education Minister Jennifer Whiteside said school districts have done the work of maintaining and upgrading heating and ventilation systems, while efforts are underway to provide affordable air filters in districts where that is warranted.

READ MORE: Number of schools with COVID exposures in Interior Health doubled in 24 hours

Kyenta Martins, spokeswoman for the parent-driven group Safe Schools Coalition BC, said any lack in resources should be remedied because parents want a clear picture of what's happening at schools as quickly as possible.

She said an online parent-led page called "BC School COVID Tracker," which posts exposure and case information based on verifiable data from parents, would continue to be a go-to source if there's a continuing lag in information posted by public health officials.

Henry welcomed that approach, so parents are well informed.

"Sometimes parents will know, and they'll know the information from other parents prior to public health getting all the pieces connected together."

— With files from The Canadian Press

To contact a reporter for this story, email Rob Munro or call 250-808-0143 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. 

News from © iNFOnews, 2021