Ottawa’s largest school board to bring back mask mandate | CBC News

“We don’t get to choose when security is important,” Fisher said in defending his motion Tuesday night.

The vote came three weeks after the province lifted most mask mandates and amid a resurgence of COVID-19 in Ottawa.

Sewage Signal Surge Ventures Into Record Territory

The city recently set records for the number of coronaviruses seen in local sewage. those levels are about three times higher than the previous record set in January 2022.

In a statement to the CBC earlier this week, Ottawa Public Health said it strongly recommends people wear masks indoors and supports measures to increase mask use.

“I think the situation in Ottawa in the last few weeks has changed considerably,” Fisher said.

The school board, which represents more than 70,000 elementary and middle school students, had 113 self-reported cases of COVID-19 among staff and students as of Tuesday, according to associate director of education Brett Reynolds.

Several trustees spoke of closed classes or schools in their zones.

CHEO, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa, had five COVID-19 patients as of Monday night, all of whom were admitted for reasons other than COVID-19.

‘More division’

Barrhaven/Knoxdale-Merivale Trustee Donna Blackburn was the only one to vote against Fisher’s motion, saying masks are not required in many other parts of society.

“I refuse to give people a false sense of security,” he said.

“I think implementing this will get more people wearing masks,” responded Lyra Evans, trustee of Rideau-Vanier/Capital, who voted in favor.

Innes/Beacon Hill-Cyrville Trustee Sandra Schwartz, who abstained, said that while she favors masking, she couldn’t vote for a motion she said is unenforceable, it amounts to “decorating a window “and leads to division and mistrust.

“There are no upsides here, just more division and emotionally charged reactions,” he said.

Start and end date to be determined

It’s unclear exactly when the measure will start and end, as Fisher’s motion did not include a start date or criteria for lifting the mandate.

A board spokesman said after the meeting that staff are developing an implementation plan and will “provide additional clarification shortly.”

Asked about start and end date on CBC Radio ottawa morning On Wednesday, board president Lynn Scott said the next board meeting is scheduled for April 25 and she hopes the board hears from staff before then.

For now, Scott said she hopes students without masks will be asked to put one on, “but if they didn’t, I’m not sure any specific action could be taken.”

Even when the mandates were previously in place, “enforcement was kind of soft,” Scott said. “Our children need to be in school learning.”

As for staff, if they don’t comply with what their employer requires, they will be subject to progressive discipline that could result in furlough without pay, Scott said.

The previous motion failed in March

Tuesday night’s meeting marked the second time in recent weeks that masking was front and center at an OCDSB meeting.

Before the province lifted mask-wearing mandates on March 21, council members considered extending mandatory mask wearing through April 8 for kindergarten through 12th grade, but ultimately did not have the votes to challenge the province.

The March 14 motion failed on a tied vote, with six against and six in favor.

Prime Minister Doug Ford has spoken out against school boards wishing to go their own way regarding masking.

“The chief medical officer is the expert,” Ford said last month, adding that Dr. Kieran Moore did his “due diligence” to end the mask mandate. “Follow the instructions of the medical director, plain and simple. That’s what we expect and we expect you to do.”

Moore said Monday that indoor masks are strongly encouraged, but now is not the time to bring back those mandates.

Ottawa Center NDP MPP Joel Harden has called on the Ford government to reinstate masking, citing recent Ottawa sewage data.