Masks were optional for St. Albert students as of Monday, but a fair number of them say they plan to keep their faces covered for now.
The province required all Grade 4-12 students to wear masks in school starting in September 2020 due to the pandemic. That requirement dropped for a few weeks in September 2021 before being reinstated on Sept. 16 due to a massive COVID-19 surge, with some St. Albert-area boards extending the mask order to all grades.
The province announced Feb. 8, 2022, that children and youths in schools will no longer have to wear masks as of Feb. 14. Other health measures such as cohorting of younger grades and enhanced sanitization remain in place.
Grade 11 student Connor Tuttle was one of the roughly 60 per cent of St. Albert Catholic High students who went mask-free Monday. He said he was looking forward to the return of pep rallies and school dances.
“I’m just super excited to see my classmates' faces because my entire high-school life I’ve only seen people’s eyes.”
Tuttle emphasized that he believes masks work to stop COVID-19 transmission and respects those who still wish to wear them. He has already had the disease, however, and doesn't see himself as someone at high risk from it.
“I just believe we’re past the point where [COVID-19] is something we need to completely base our everyday life on,” he said.
Grade 11 student Karina Saive was one of the maybe 40 per cent of SACHS students who kept their masks on this week.
“I’m just worried about my grandparents might get really sick,” she said, adding that she is glad masking rules at her school will no longer be enforced.
Grade 12 SACHS student Kaylee Eaglesham said she and many of her friends and teachers were shocked by the province’s mask decision. She plans to stay masked up as she is concerned about the risk of COVID-19 exposure in her school’s crowded halls.
“I know we have to go back to somewhat normal times, but I feel [masks in hallways] is one of the last things that should be going,” she said.
Mixed feelings from adults
St. Albert parent Jill Cunningham said she suspects her kids will continue wearing masks until more of their peers remove theirs. She felt the province’s decision was reasonable, and that the removal of the mask order will help students build social connections.
“Two years ago, we thought it so alien seeing masks on people, and now it’s so alien not seeing masks on people,” she observed.
While some parents are relieved at the end of the mask mandate, Greater St. Albert Catholic board chair Joe Becigneul said other people, himself included, see it as a major cause for concern.
“We had no notice that this would be coming,” he said, and the board had just received a “monstrous” shipment of masks from the province that students now don’t need to wear.
Becigneul noted that the province still had some 1,600 people hospitalized with COVID-19 as of last week. Case counts were also quite high and did not include people diagnosed through rapid test kits — he personally knew of eight people who tested positive on such kits in the last week alone.
“To report that cases are going down when you don’t have all the facts and you don’t have all the numbers, I think it’s a bit premature to relax all the restrictions.”
St. Albert Public board chair Kim Armstrong said the province’s decision put boards in a difficult position, as it meant schools could not reinstate mask mandates if they saw a surge in cases. Many students under 12 also are not yet fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
“We feel it is inappropriate at this time to do this,” she said of the province’s decision, adding that she is very concerned this move could lead to a surge in infections necessitating school closures.
Teachers reached by The Gazette declined to comment on the province’s decision.
In a Feb. 9 press conference, Alberta Teachers’ Association president Jason Schilling questioned why the province had dropped the school mask mandate when community transmission rates were still high and called on the province to take a more cautious approach.
