Kramberger: Will a lack of mask-wearing in Quebec schools affect final exams?

Simply as a precaution, the mandate should have been kept for schools and yellow bus rides until the exam period.

Publishing date:

May 18, 2022 • 53 minutes ago • 2 minute read

The Lester B. Pearson School Board has stated it will instruct its schools to allow mask-wearing and will continue to provide free masks to students and staff. Photo by John Mahoney /Montreal Gazette

Although the Lester B. Pearson School Board announced it will continue to respect a student’s choice to wear a mask while seated in class — in the wake of the Quebec government ending most of its remaining mask mandates last Saturday — indications are the majority have moved on .

The Dorval-headquartered English board stated it will instruct its schools to permit mask-wearing and will continue to provide free masks to students and staff.

My sources at a Pointe-Claire high school have reported that around five to seven students per class have kept wearing masks, and that perhaps one or two out of about six teachers they see per day have stayed masked this week.

I’m not here to point fingers and judge personal choices allowed under government health directives, but was it wise for Quebec to pull the mask mandate as students are heading into final exams?

Yes, a vast majority of West Islanders have had COVID-19 vaccinations, and some are triple or quadruple vaxxed, but that hasn’t been 100 per cent effective in preventing someone from testing positive.

Simply as a precaution, the mask mandate should have been kept for schools and yellow bus rides until the final exam period.

The Pearson board informed parents that absences for final exams will need to be justified with an official medical note.

The board noted isolation protocols for schools remain in place for individuals testing positive for COVID-19. It advised that students should not report to school when feeling unwell, and strongly encourages them to use rapid tests if they show any symptoms. As well, students emerging from a COVID-related isolation will be required to wear a mask at all times for the first five days of their return.

In the fall of 2020, the Pearson board decided it couldn’t wait for the province to act and opted to spend $500,000 on higher-end filters for schools with mechanical ventilation systems and wall-mounted air purifiers for classrooms in buildings that had only natural ventilation (which means opening windows and doors).

Too bad Quebec has yet to adequately address air quality issues by setting up a funding program to improve air filtration at all schools, particularly older ones that don’t have mechanical ventilation systems.

Even if there isn’t another wave of COVID-19 cases in the fall, air quality at schools is a long-term concern — not just to deal with the pandemic, but to possibly help prevent the spread of the flu or colds, and to help asthmatic people.

Albert Kramberger is editor of the Montreal Gazette’s West Island/Off-Island section.

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