Masks will now be mandatory for students in grades four and up when students head back to school in September.
The province announced today students aged 10 and over will wear masks on buses and in school in scenarios where they can’t keep a distance of two metres between them.
“A month or two months ago, we were at a place where we thought kids were not great transmitters (of COVID-19),” said Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s chief public health officer at a press conference.
“Now we have newer evidence that says basically aged 10 and up, they can transmit it almost as effectively, if not the same as adults.”
The announcement comes after the Public Health Agency of Canada announced last week their recommendation of mask use for students over the age of 10.
While students are required to wear masks while on the bus or while moving through school hallways, they will not have to wear them during class.
However, if schools can’t maintain the two metre separation between students in classrooms, those students will remain masked all day.
“Orders have been given to school communities to maximize space in our classrooms by removing unnecessary furniture, clutter, anything to maximize space between our students,” said Zach Churchill, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development.
Students with medical conditions preventing them from wearing masks will not be required to wear masks, and documentation or proof of their condition does not need to be supplied.
When it comes to how mandatory masks will be enforced in school, Chruchill said much like other rules, teachers and principals will be responsible.
The province will also be putting another $40 million into the Back to School Plan, which includes $29 million for more substitute teachers, some of which will involve individuals without the formerly required Bachelor of Education certificate.
Other spending includes $8.7 million to hire 175 more custodial staff to support enhanced cleaning, $1.4 million to extend the workday of pre-primary and early childhood educators to allow them time to clean their classes properly, $1.2 million for more lunch monitors and half a million for school supplies such as pencils, scribblers, etc.
Churchill also announced the province is conducting a province-wide ventilation examination on all schools to ensure their ventilation systems are working and can work to full capacity.
As for older schools without ventilation systems, they will have their windows checked to ensure they can open to a proper degree even during the colder months.
“Windows can remain open (in the winter), we have heating systems in all of our schools and ventilation is important based on the recommendations we are getting from Public Health,” said Churchill.
“The windows, you can open them up a little bit, you can open up a lot, and I’m sure that level of opening will be adjusted depending on what is coming into those windows and the weather outside. We just want to make sure they are working.”
Churchill also said before and after school programs will be available when students return provided they can follow public health guidelines, and a sport schedule and protocol is in its final stage of development with Sports Nova Scotia, and will come at a later date.
Follow Cody McEachern on Twitter at @CodyInHiFi for more.
