Schoolchildren in red zones to wear MASKS in classrooms

Quebec will require elementary school students in regions hardest hit by COVID-19 to wear masks when they return from next week’s March break, health authorities announced Thursday. The news came as the province’s campaign to vaccinate the population got underway, with people aged 85 and over able to book appointments and health officials in one city providing shots right away. The Health department said students in Grades 1 to 6 will wear pediatric procedural masks at all times inside classrooms and on school transport in Quebec’s red pandemic-alert zones, which include Montreal and Quebec City. The new health orders come into effect March 8, when students return from break. The province will be providing masks.