The B.C. Government says all students in grades 4 to 12, as well as staff, teachers, and visitors in schools will be required to wear masks when classes resume next month.

Education Minister Jennifer Whiteside says the significant change to the back to school plan comes as the fourth wave of COVID-19 rages in the province mainly infecting unvaccinated British Columbians.

“So this means that students can look forward to a resumption of safe, in person full time learning, extra curricular activities, sports, arts, performing arts and music,” she said. “We know they are also looking forward to seeing their friends, teachers, librarians, coaches and all of the other school staff.”

The mask mandate will apply indoors and it will be in place on school buses as well. As for kids in grades K to 3, Whiteside says they will be encouraged to wear masks but it won’t be required.

“We recognize that COVID is an ever changing pandemic that will continue to challenge us this year. But we are not in the same situation this year as we were heading into last September because we now have safe and effective vaccines that we know protect us from COVID,” she added.

Whiteside says vaccines will not be mandatory for students 12 and older or for staff, but she is encouraging everyone to get the vaccine if they haven’t already. She notes as of last week, about 72 per cent of school aged children have received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine, while about 57 per cent are fully vaccinated.

“[A mandate is] proportional to the risk. We know that schools are a safe setting, that the risk of transmission in the school settings is actually very low, even in the absence of vaccines last year,” Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, added.

In a statement, the BC Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) says it would not oppose such a mandatory vaccine measure for teachers, if it were brought in.

“We would need to see details about protection of privacy and accommodation for workers with exemptions,” the BCTF said in a tweet Tuesday. “In the meantime, we need to focus on masks for all, ventilation and distancing.”

Whiteside also says $87.5 million in provincial and federal funding has been invested into air quality improvement like ventilation in schools.

“Forty-four of B.C.’s 60 school districts have upgraded their HVAC systems,” Whiteside said, adding there are over 1,500 public schools in B.C. “And 100 per cent of those schools are working on ventilation.”

She noted regional safety measures on top of these provincial requirements may be added , as needed, including any measures targeted to specific schools or districts.

The back-to-school plan still includes increased ventilation and improvements in schools, along with daily cleaning and disinfecting protocols and a continued focus on hand hygiene.

While there will be no learning cohorts like last year, students will continue to be required to complete daily health checks and stay home if they are feeling sick.

This announcement of the mask mandate in schools as well as colleges, and universities comes one day after health officials announced plans to require people be vaccinated against COVID-19 if they want to attend some social and recreational events in the province.

During that same Tuesday press conference, Henry announced the return of the indoor mask mandate across British Columbia, effective midnight.