Thunder Bay's top doctor encourages masking, but lacks authority to bring back school mandates
Amid triple threat of respiratory illnesses affecting children, masking remains optional in schools
As northwestern Ontario deals with a triple threat of respiratory illnesses affecting children across the province, Thunder Bay's top health official says she's unable to direct schools to reintroduce mask mandates seen earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic.
COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza are spreading, straining emergency rooms and pediatric care resources that in many cases were already stretched to the brink.
Ontario's chief medical officer of health, Dr. Kieran Moore, has recommended everyone wear masks indoors and return to layers of protection that have proven to work over the course of the pandemic, but he's stopped short of recommending the return of mask mandates in the province.
Health leaders in northwestern Ontario have echoed this recommendation and have noted that in at least one emergency room in the region, 25 per cent of ER admissions this month have been children under 16. Hospitals have opened up extra pediatric care wards and are sending teens to adult wards to ease the strain.
While masking would likely make a big difference in stopping the spread of respiratory viruses going around, Dr. Janet DeMille, Thunder Bay's chief medical officer of health, said she cannot bring back the mask mandate in schools on her own.
"That's not something I can necessarily order with the tools that I have," DeMille said. "That would be a provincial decision, or at the board level. I'm not hearing that it is something planned to be mandated at this time."
Most Ontario schools dropped their mask mandates and other pandemic-mitigation measures such as class cohorts and daily on-site screening earlier this March.
'Mask friendly environment' — but no mandate
So far, school boards in the region have not yet announced reintroduced mask mandates, as seen during earlier stages of the pandemic.
The Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board sent a message to parents that says though masking is not mandatory, "we are a mask-friendly environment."
"We will actively promote respectful, welcoming and inclusive environments for individuals who choose to wear, or not wear a mask within our school community," the note reads. It also asks parents to continue to self-screen their children for illness and keep them home if they are unwell.
A spokesperson for the Keewatin-Patricia School Board, which covers the most westerly portion of the region, says masks are recommended in all of its schools, but are not required for now. It's schools have high-quality masks available for free to anyone who wants one.
Lakehead University, which has campuses in Thunder Bay and Orillia is also not bringing back mask mandates, but a spokesperson says the school encourages people to wear a mask and for those who do not, respect those who choose to.
CBC News has reached out to other school boards in the region, including the Lakehead District School Board in Thunder Bay, and the Rainy River District School Board to learn more about their policies as well, but has not yet heard back.
Elsewhere in Ontario, parents have organized and are considering bringing legal action against the province to see masking return to schools.
CBC News has previously asked Moore directly whether he is considering reintroducing masks in schools to curb the spread of COVID-19, RSV and other respiratory viruses.
In an emailed statement, he instead encouraged people to get their COVID-19 vaccines and boosters and the annual flu shot as they "remain the best tool to keep people healthy and out of hospitals."