B.C.’s schools have fewer COVID-19 safety measures in place than last year, says union

B.C. students return to school Tuesday but the union representing the province’s teachers says concerns among educators are very high.

Terri Mooring, president of the BC Teachers’ Federation, said there is a “cloud” hanging over this school year due to the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

She said they wanted to see more health and safety measures in place this year but there are actually fewer in place now than when students returned to school in 2020.

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Mooring said, unlike last year, this year there will be no cohorts, no physical distancing, no daytime custodians, no provincial limits on school gatherings, no exposure notices and no limits to school visitors.

She said educators are “exhausted” and therefore “more vulnerable” to the stresses of the coming year.

“With the Delta variant accounting for most of the cases in B.C., we’re seeing some concerning results in schools already returned,” she said.

Mooring said they want to see the mask mandate expanded to include kindergarten to Grade 3s.

They would like to see in-school vaccination clinics across the province, and not just in some school districts.

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Last month, the province unveiled its back-to-school safety plan, which requires students in grades 4 to 12 to wear a mask in the classroom.

All K-to-12 staff and visitors will still need to wear masks indoors, and now kids in kindergarten to Grade 3 will be strongly encouraged to wear masks.

Health authorities will also be able to introduce additional measures, specific to individual schools or districts when community transmission rates are higher.

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Mooring said the union is continuing to push for upgrades to the school’s ventilation systems to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

She said there needs to be public reporting of the upgrades that need to be made to school ventilation systems.

“Each family and all education workers should know the status of their school’s ventilation system,” Mooring added.

She added they would also like to see a more comprehensive testing system so everyone can have a better understanding of what is taking place in schools.

“We believe every one of these measures will keep these schools safer and put both families and teachers and other education workers’ minds at ease,” Mooring said.

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