No masks in schools: Quebec parents, teachers want explanations
Posted August 8, 2021 6:46 pm.
MONTREAL (CityNews) ─ Parents and teachers are asking the Quebec government for clarification on the health measures when school resumes in September.
The province announced students and staff would go back to school next month to teach and learn in-person without masks.
“No mask, no distancing, no measures,” said Olivier Drouin, a father of two and the founder of a citizen-run initiative to track COVID-19 outbreaks in schools. “So it’s a back-to-normal plan, but we’re not really in a normal situation.”
The CAQ government recently announced the province is facing a fourth wave with COVID infections. But the rules so far indicate students at the CEGEP and university level will no longer need to wear a mask in the classroom, and social distancing will not be required.
“If we do vaccinations in schools that would be a big help,” said epidemiologist Dr. Christopher Labos. “There is always logistical issues but I think it’s doable. And I suspect that is what the government is going to do, in the same way they brought vaccinations in some of the hospitals and long-term care facilities.”
The President of the Quebec provincial association of teachers, @heidi_yetman says teachers are hoping there won’t be too many changes when students and staff go back to school next month. @CityNewsMTL pic.twitter.com/1kDyIAB9UP
— Melina Giubilaro (@metamelina) August 8, 2021
The issue of air quality in classrooms has also been a hot topic during the pandemic in Quebec.
Parents and teachers are now asking the province if they’ve done their homework over the summer and installed air purifiers in each building. Quebec’s education minister is set to make an announcement this week, but there’s no word on an actual plan just yet.
“One of the complaints that we heard last year during the school year was the constant change of directives, constant change of sanitary measures,” said Heidi Yetman, president of the Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers. “That was very very stressful for teachers. It created uncertainty. Every week there was something new.
“They’re depending on individual schools and decentralizing the power. Which is very dangerous because it means each school will have different rules and regulations and that’s why we need the province to step up.”
