The local president for the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario is sharing concerns as mask mandates are taken off in schools, a move that he calls “premature at best.”
Along with schools, mask mandates were also lifted in most public settings across Ontario, including shopping malls, restaurants and grocery stores. The Ontario government has kept the mandates for now in other settings like public transit, hospitals and long-term care, but those mandates and all other COVID-19 health directives are set to drop on April 27.
Craig Smith is the president of ETFO’s Thames Valley Teacher Local, which represents about 3,600 members in the Thames Valley District School Board, a board that serves about 80,000 students in London, Middlesex County, Elgin County and Oxford County.
He takes issue with the Ontario government lumping schools in with other settings such as shopping malls and grocery stores for its decision on when to lift mask mandates.
“I think if (schools) are aligned to anything, it is more like what we find in retirement homes and long-term care settings. Schools are a congregation of congregated settings,” Smith said.
“The masks themselves, if they’re deemed to be necessary for those who are vulnerable in retirement homes, long-term care homes, I think the equation is similar to the schools.”
While masks aren’t mandatory, the TVDSB will continue to encourage masking for staff and students going forward. The London District Catholic School Board will also do the same.
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As for older students in the region, Western University says its masking mandate will remain in effect until the end of its term.
All of the aforementioned moves have been backed by the Middlesex-London Health Unit.
Smith expects both staff and students at local schools will continue masking “for the next little while,” but he’s concerned with “the question of what happens over time,” alluding to the potential for the increased spread of COVID-19.
Ahead of the mandates being lifted on Monday, Ontario’s COVID-19 Science Advisory Table said in its latest projections, released on Thursday, that masks are an “effective public health measure to reduce COVID-19 transmission.”
Keeping the table’s advice in mind, Smith wants to see mandates stick around for a little longer.
“This year has been a challenge again for both students and for teachers, and I think another hurdle that’s put in their way to making that even harder is just not welcome at this point,” Smith said.
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Speaking to Global News on Friday, ahead of the mask mandates’ removal, local parent Shannon Dafoe said she and her family will keep masking “for a little bit longer, depending on the setting we’re in.”
“I work in long-term care, so I’ve been doing PPE (personal protective equipment) this whole time, and as much as I’m tired of it, I still think it’s important to protect yourself and especially (my children) aren’t old enough to be vaccinated yet, so we’re just going to do what feels best for our family,” Dafoe said.
“I think it’s up to individual families and I trust that most people are being cautious because we’ve done this long enough, we know what we should and shouldn’t be doing.”
A local teacher and parent, Sarah Timothy says she and a number of her co-workers will continue masking for some time after March break.
Her five-year-old is happy to not have to wear a mask, but Timothy says she’ll likely send her with masks anyway.
“We’re just hoping for a good summer and hopefully this is the end of this,” Timothy added.
“We’ve made the best of it, as best as we can.”
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