Ontario is in the process of removing all of its COVID 19 restrictions. Its mask mandate will disappear after the end of March Break. Sachin Maharaj, a professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Ottawa, writes that the decision on masks in schools should be left to individual school boards:
What is striking about [Dr. Kieran] Moore’s decision to drop mask mandates is how much it is opposed by his colleagues in the medical and scientific communities. This includes the heads of Sick Kids, CHEO and other pediatric hospitals in the Children’s Health Coalition. It also includes the head of Ontario’s science advisory table, who told the CBC the decision to remove masking is “not supported by science right now because it’s just too early.”
Indeed, wastewater analysis by the science table suggests that we are still experiencing an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 new COVID infections per day. Two months ago, this was the level of spread that closed schools for two weeks. But somehow now it is cause to drop the one intervention reliably shown to reduce transmission?
Ford says, “Let me be very clear to the school boards: they aren’t medical experts ... Follow the direction of the chief medical officer, plain and simple.” But there clearly is disagreement among the scientists:
Speaking to The Globe and Mail about the benefits of masks in schools, Sick Kids CEO Ronald Cohn said, “There’s no question that masking has a protective effect as it relates to transmission. I mean we know this, and we should just really universally accept this.” Indeed, a recent study published in the journal Pediatrics of more than 1.1 million students in over 3,000 schools found that, even when controlling for differences in vaccination rates and other characteristics, school districts that implemented universal masking policies had in-school transmission rates 87 per cent lower than those districts where masks were optional.
Ford's past performance on the COVID file leaves a lot to be desired. Masks can be uncomfortable. But they're a simple protective measure. It makes sense to air on the side of caution.
Image: The Toronto Star
