Parents want kids wearing face masks
When Zoe and Cate Martins return to school, they’d prefer to do so while wearing masks.
The sisters, who are nine and 11, believe that doing so will, along with other measures, help protect themselves and others from becoming infected with COVID-19.
“I would want to wear one at school because I would want to keep my friends safe, and my teachers, and everybody around, because I wouldn’t want anyone to catch it,” said Zoe.
Their mom, Kyenta Martins, has a chronic lung disease and her family wears masks out shopping and when socializing with friends who are closer than two metres.
“We’ve been really open about the risks (with the kids). We’ve basically tried to educate them on what’s going on, what’s happening in the world, what do we know, what do we not know,” said Martins, who lives in Vancouver. “They’ve taken it on. They want to keep me safe, they want to keep grandma safe — they’re really OK with wearing masks.”
Martins thinks it’s unacceptable that B.C.’s return-to-school plan doesn’t mandate face coverings in schools, and hopes that will change.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has said there is a role for masks in schools, and recommends them for adults and older students when they can’t maintain their distance, such as in hallways or on buses.
Henry said this week that it’s not realistic to expect a young child to wear a mask all day long in class. They’re not recommended for use by young children, and they can lead to increased face and eye touching.
“There’s lots of things that we can do to make those environments safe without requiring somebody to sit with a mask on for a long period of time,” she said. “That’s what we’ll be looking at.”
A new poll from Insights West found that 79 per cent of respondents support mandatory masks for teachers and staff, with majority support for mask wearing for high-school students (77 per cent), middle school (73 per cent), older kids (67 per cent) and younger children (58 per cent).
Cindy Cheung has two sons, ages eight and 13, who are going into Grades 2 and 8 in Richmond. She said her youngest fiddles with his mask when he is wearing it, sometimes reaching inside to scratch an itch, so she understands why wearing a mask all day might not work for small children. However, she could see masks being useful for older kids.
“My stance is mask-wearing can be one of the methods that can help, but I don’t think it will stop an outbreak from happening,” Cheung said.
Aleicia Vincent is a mother of three and a teacher in Powell River.
She said her children, who are in Grades 1, 3 and 8, are capable of wearing masks for extended periods of time and she feels the bar for safety is being lowered for schools.
Classrooms are enclosed, crowded spaces and Vincent believes it’s impossible to physically distance under the current conditions. She and her eldest son will wear masks when school resumes in September, and she is considering keeping her youngest children at home for a few weeks to see whether guidelines change. When they return, they will also wear masks all day.
“The bottom line is that schools have virtually no protections that actually work in the reality of schools, as the plan is written. Anyone who works in schools know this is a plan for schools that only exist in the heads of legislators,” she said. “We need masks because, while it should be a last line of defence, it is in reality one of our only defences.”
B.C. Education Minister Rob Fleming said this week that all students and staff will be provided with reusable, non-medical masks, upon request, when they return to school.
Directives regarding masks in schools vary from province to province.
In Alberta, students in Grades 4 to 12 and staff must wear masks in all shared and common areas or where physical distance can’t be maintained. They’re not required in the classroom if they’re following the physical distancing guidelines, and for younger students, masks are optional.
Ontario has mandated masks for students in Grades 4 to 12, including while they’re in classrooms, and they’re strongly encouraged for younger children when they’re in common areas inside. Staff will wear masks.