Masks now mandatory ‘in all indoor areas’ of BC schools

The Government of BC has announced enhanced safety measures for K-12 schools.

Going forward, all middle and secondary students, along with all K-12 staff, will be required to wear non-medical masks in all indoor areas.

Until now, they were only required in high-traffic and unregulated areas like the hallway, library, lunch room or on the school bus.

Now, they must be worn by students when they’re inside the classroom with their learning group, but there are a few exceptions.

Students can remove their masks when sitting or standing at their seat or workstation inside a classroom, if there’s a barrier in place or when they’re eating and drinking.

Wearing a mask remains a personal choice for all elementary students.

"To make sure schools continue to be as safe as possible for students and staff as the pandemic evolves, we have worked with provincial health and our partners on a continuous review of the guidelines, adapting and responding when needed," said Jennifer Whiteside, minister of education.

"We want students, their families and staff to feel confident with the safety measures in place. That's why we're making these updates."

In addition, guidelines have been strengthened for physical education and music classes.

High-intensity physical activities are to be held outside as much as possible and shared equipment, including weight machines, treadmills or instruments, can only be used if they’re properly sanitized between use.

Students using equipment or playing an instrument should be spaced at least two metres apart and masks are to be used when singing.

"Educators, administrators and staff have done a great job of adapting our schools to make them safe and ensure important in-class learning continues," said Dr. Bonnie Henry, provincial health officer.

"Since the start of the school year, we have paid close attention to our schools and learned much, including the importance of having robust safety plans and using the layers of protection.”

Henry added that masks are one important layer and these updated guidelines will strengthen how and where they should be used to protect everyone.

School districts and independent schools will be required to confirm that every school has adjusted its safety protocols to reflect the update provincial guidelines by Feb. 26.

It was also announced today that the second half of $242.4 million of one-time funding from the federal government arrived on Jan. 29 - the first arrived in September.

The ministry of education is allocating $101.1 million to school districts, $7.5 million to independent schools and $3.5 million to manage COVID-19 exposures in schools.

Another $8.2 million will go towards supporting Indigenous learners and addressing learning loss and student health, technology for remote learning, education and mental health support, adapting classroom spaces and more.

Finally, there will be $900,000 allocated for six regional rapid-response teams, one for each health authority and one dedicated to independent schools.

"These teams, announced by the provincial health officer, will continue to improve the speed of school exposure investigations, so health authorities can inform school districts and families more quickly," explained a government release.

One of the most important factors to keeping schools safe is daily screening for COVID-19 symptoms, which is why daily health checks will still be required.

To support those daily screenings, a new K-12 health-checker app has been developed for students and families.