The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) is asking that all students and staff wear a “well-fitting mask” when indoors, as Canada grapples with the sixth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a letter posted to its website on Wednesday, the TDSB said it takes direction from the province, which does not require masks.
However, the TDSB said “given the increase in COVID-19 cases and the high number of absences, we as a system, are asking that all staff and students please wear a well-fitting mask when indoors in schools to limit the spread of COVID-19 and help minimize disruption from COVID-related absences.”
The board said “to be clear this remains a personal decision” and will not be mandated.
“Thank you for your consideration of this important measure,” the letter reads. “We know that it is not where we expected or hoped to be, but our collective actions can make a difference.”
The TDSB said, though, that masks are “required” in certain situations, including for those in days six to 10 after a self isolation period of five days after a COVID-19 diagnosis, for those who are identified as a close contact for someone with the virus, and in public spaces, including in school and childcare centres for 14 days after travel outside of Canada.
The letter from TDSB comes a day after trustees at the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) voted in favour of reinstating mandatory masking in its schools.
In a tweet, the OCDSB said staff are now developing an implementation plan and will “provide additional clarification shorty.”
In response to the OCDSB decision, a provincial government official told Global News that the board knows it cannot enforce a mask mandate on students.
The official said that students can go to school with or without a mask in alignment with provincial guidelines.
The official noted that the local public health unit can elevate policies if they deem it necessary, but said that medical experts should make these type of decisions.
The move came just weeks after the mask mandate was lifted in most public places, including in schools, across the province.
In an email to Global News, the Toronto Catholic District School Board said it’s next board meeting is on April 20.
“We have not received a motion about this matter at this time,” the email read.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday Ontario’s top doctor Kieran Moore issued a “strong recommendation” for individuals to wear a mask in indoor public settings.
“In the last few weeks, we have seen an increase in the per cent positivity and upward trend in wastewater surveillance and a rise in hospitalizations,” Moore told reporters.
“These trends are likely to continue for the next several weeks but there are actions that we can take to help manage the impact of this wave such as layering the personal protective measures we have adopted so well over the last two years, even when they may not be legally required,” he explained. “These include a strong recommendation to continue wearing a well-fitted three-layer mask or use of a medical mask in all public indoor settings.”
Last week, Toronto’s top doctor Eileen de Villa also encouraged members of the public to wear a mask amid the sixth wave, saying it’s a “simple thing we can all do.”
However, Moore said the province would not be reinstating the mandatory mask mandate “at this time.”
The mandate was lifted on March 21 in most public places except in “high-risk” settings including in long-term care homes and on public transit.
Moore said, though, that mandatory masking may be brought back if a new variant of concern emerges, if there is a threat to the province’s health care system, or during the winter months.
On Wednesday, data released by the province showed 1,332 people were in an Ontario hospital with COVID-19, while 182 were in intensive care.
Experts have cautioned that the province is now experiencing the sixth wave of the virus as wastewater and test positivity metrics trend upwards.
-with a file from Global News’ Ryan Rocca