B.C.’s top doctor has expanded the mask mandate to cover all kids in Kindergarten to Grade 3 until the end of the school term.

Starting Monday, Oct. 4, all students in B.C. will be required to wear a mask when inside a school building, including while at their desks and on buses. Previously, only kids in grades 4 to 12 were required to wear masks, along with all adults.

“We are facing a more infectious strain of the virus and many children can not yet be protected,” Dr. Henry said Friday, noting earlier this week that there has been an increase in COVID cases among school-aged children.

“Wearing your mask gives you superpowers and makes you superheroes.”

Henry says this mask mandate adds to other safety measures like daily health checks, hand washing, staying home when sick, and improved ventilation systems.

It also contains strategies to help schools create space between people, including staggered recess, lunch breaks and class transition times, managing the flow of people in common areas, and using available space to spread people out, she added.

“We know there is a high level of concern among some parents, students, teachers and boards of education, especially in regions of B.C. where transmission rates are higher,” Jennifer Whiteside, B.C.’s Education Minister said, in a statement. “We are listening to the concerns of people and, on the advice of the provincial health officer, taking further action so that families, students and staff feel secure.”

The expanded order comes after several school boards in the province brought in their own mask mandates this week. Asked if the mask mandate was in response to a lack of public confidence, Henry said that wasn’t the case.

“We’ve been monitoring the data and I’m not the only person who makes these decisions. It is in partnership with the school districts, parent advisory committees, and others. So, it was a matter of time once we have the data that we presented on Tuesday to see what are the important measures that we need to do,” she said.

“I indicated quite clearly, I thought, on Tuesday that these were things we were looking at. We weren’t at the place yet where we had all the decisions made.”

The BC Teachers Federation says it is pleased to see the return of the mask mandate and public reporting of cases in schools, noting that data should never have been withheld.

“When things aren’t mandated, it is really hit and miss as to how it actually plays out in the field so while those safety measures are an option, it really plays out differently across the entire province,” President Teri Mooring said.

“Teachers are appreciative of all the parent advocacy like what we saw in last week’s joint letter from DPACs in Burnaby, New Westminster, Sooke, Surrey, and Vancouver. Trustees passing motions to expand the mask mandate in several districts also helped.”

Mooring says they’re still calling on vaccine clinics to be set up in or near schools. She is also pushing for more transparent data about ventilation, as well as equitable and accessible information about COVID cases in schools so all families have the information they need to make decisions about their health and safety.”

Asked about the possibility of a vaccine mandate for school teachers and staff, Henry said she expects all school staff to take advantage of vaccines that are available to them.

“It is an employer-employee relationship and we are seeing that more employers are making it mandatory,” she said.

Mooring meanwhile noted the BCTF is not opposed to a vaccine mandate, if it were to be brought in.

“We would work to ensure the employer provides workers with legitimate medical exemptions an appropriate accommodation and that their privacy is protected,” she said.

There have also been calls from some Kamloops parents pushing for the return of “layers of protection” similar to the previous school year, aimed at keeping children aged five to 11 not yet eligible for the vaccine safe.

As of Friday morning, there are active school exposures at 11 Kamloops area schools, with one – St. Ann’s Academy – partially closed until Wednesday, Oct. 5.

Henry also says there will be a new monthly report released that will inform British Columbians about the virus and how it effects school-aged children.

– With files from Jeff Andreas