Expert group urges N.S. students to continue mask use at school

An expert group from the IWK Health Centre is calling for masking to continue in Nova Scotia schools even after it is no longer required.

The province is lifting most COVID-19 public health restrictions, like masks and social distancing, on Monday. Public schools fall under this change, so masks won't be required when students come back to school after March break next week.

But the hospital's pediatric pandemic advisory group of doctors said Thursday it recommends that students continue to wear masks until at least mid-April.

Dr. Jeannette Comeau, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist and advisory group member, said Thursday there are worries a drop in masking could lead to a spike in virus transmission in schools. 

"We want to keep children healthy. And then we want to keep them in school, in the classroom learning, because that really is the best place for them to be learning," Comeau said.

"And additionally, we want to try to keep our whole community healthy. I mean, it's not just about the children. It's also about the teachers and the family members."

The group said continuing the use of masks keeps virus transmission down and protects essential workers, including parents who work in health care.

It's important to keep masking because the numbers of people in hospital with the virus are still high, and the adult system is over capacity, Comeau said. 

She said the numbers of COVID-19 cases have been more of a "plateau" recently and she'd like to see a steady decline before the group would revisit its position. 

Comeau said she knows it's been a long two years dealing with the pandemic, and while "we're all eager for this to be over it's just not quite over yet.

"If we can hang on to a few of these measures that we've been doing so well, you know, I think we will move through this phase of the pandemic," she said.

Strang says position aligned with Public Health

Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health, said Thursday that he agrees "completely" with the advisory group's position and Public Health is urging the same.

"Just because the requirement to wear a mask is lifted, doesn't mean that you should stop wearing a mask," Strang said.

He added schools in the province should build in supports to allow children to keep wearing masks if they prefer, and promote wearing them.

Latest numbers coming Friday

As of March 8, the number of people getting treatment in a specialized COVID-19 unit had risen to 50 from 45 four days earlier. The total number of people in hospital who tested positive for COVID-19 was not released on March 8, but it totalled 320 on March 4.

The province is expected to issue its latest weekly COVID-19 data report on Friday.

Comeau said their group echoes Public Health's stance that masks should still be worn voluntarily in all indoor spaces in the province, and this is a good time for parents to talk with their kids about how it's important not to bully others for whether or not they're masked.

"It's an individual choice. And we certainly want everyone to respect the choice that people are making," Comeau said.

Vaccination rates 

The IWK group said the vaccination rate for children ages five to 11 is still less than 80 per cent, so waiting a few weeks allows for more needles in arms.

This step allows time to see what happens with other province's lifting school mask mandates, and the impact of lifting Nova Scotia restrictions, the group said.

But Strang said Thursday that there is "very high" vaccination coverage for those students 12 to 17 years old. He said that even though vaccine numbers are lower in the younger grades, schools have not been shown to be a major source of transmission ever during the pandemic.

 Other experts, residents weigh in on changes

Whatever people decide, the group said "it is important to ensure that students are not bullied about whether they do or do not wear a mask. Discuss this with your children. Be kind to one another, and tough on the virus."

Dr. Lisa Barrett, one of Nova Scotia's foremost experts on infectious diseases and vaccines, also recently said she has yet to see evidence that making masks voluntary is a good idea.

She said cases have increased in many countries around the world after the removal of precautions.

Others are also questioning the province's decision to now limit public COVID-19 data to weekly reports, which contain much less information.