Masks not required for upcoming fall semester: TVDSB
A student adjusts his protective mask as he walks off the bus at the Bancroft Elementary School as students go back to school in Montreal, on Monday, August 31, 2020. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson)
On Monday, the Ministry of Education announced that masks will not be required when Ontario students go back to school in the fall, and on Tuesday, the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) echoed that sentiment.
In a statement to CTV News London on Tuesday, a representative with the TVDSB says the school board is aligning itself with the direction of the Ministry of Health and the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health, and is therefore not mandating masking for students in the fall semester.
While masks will no longer be required for students, staff and visitors in schools, school board offices or on student transportation, the TVDSB says the masking of students and staff in its schools is still “strongly encouraged.”
Instead, the Ministry of Education said on Monday that mask usage will be voluntary and masks will be provided to students upon request.
Rapid tests will also remain available to school boards.
In its statement, the TVDSB says that between 2021 and 2022, $32.5 million was invested in HVAC improvements, and that an additional $25 million has just been allocated to HVAC improvements, with their end goal being to eliminate all passive ventilation by August 2024.
“We are pleased to announce that by September 2022, 92 [per cent] of our schools will have full mechanical ventilation,” according to the statement.
In addition, the TVDSB says that portable HEPA units have been distributed to all kindergarten classrooms, classrooms with students with medical or physical needs and in all common areas in schools without mechanical ventilation or where MERV 13 installation is not possible.
“MERV-13 filters will be present at all schools where allowed by the mechanical systems by September 2022,” the statement adds.
Provincial masking mandates ended in most settings on Mar. 21.
— With files from CTV News Toronto
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