Ottawa Catholic School Board now mandating masks for all students
OTTAWA -
The Ottawa Catholic School Board has issued new COVID-19 safety guidelines for students coming back to school in September.
In a letter to families, the OCSB said it would now be mandating mask use for all students, including those in kindergarten. Under provincial guidelines masks are mandatory for Grades 1 to 12 but are only recommended for kindergarten students. The OCSB previously announced guidelines in line with the province, but issued its updated masking rules on Monday.
"We know a layered approach reduces the risk of students and staff contracting COVID-19. A school-wide mask mandate will offer our school community an extra layer of protection against the Delta Variant. Our goal is to ensure our learning and working environments are as safe as possible, and masking will further enhance our safety protocols," the OCSB said.
The school board said half to three quarters of all kindergarteners wore masks at school last school year, and the board is working to get that figure as close to 100 per cent as possible. The OCSB says there will be kindergarten teams to help students and their families with mask wearing.
Masks will also be required for all indoor sports and for outdoor sports where physical distancing cannot be maintained at all times. Under earlier guidelines, masks were recommended for indoor sports.
"Students may want to bring multiple masks so that they can change their masks as needed," the board said.
The OCSB also says students can participate in extracurricular activities but must wear masks if they cannot maintain distance between cohorts.
Lockers will also be allowed for students in Grades 7 to 12.
The Ontario government recently announced changes to its COVID-19 screening tool for students, which removed some symptoms such as runny nose, sore throat, and headache from the list of symptoms that would require students to stay home.
The OCSB says it is working with Ottawa Public Health as it updates its own screening tools to be in line with the new provincial guidance.
The first day of school in the Ottawa Catholic School Board is Sept. 7.
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