On September 27, BC provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, and health minister, Adrian Dix, announced mandatory masking would be re-established in healthcare environments as COVID-19 cases are rising at a rapid rate. Starting October 3, masks became mandatory once again in healthcare settings.
Comments closedMore than two weeks into the school year, New Brunswick has released the school air quality test results from 2022-23.
Twenty-nine of the 35 public schools tested last winter had peak carbon dioxide levels above the Department of Education’s threshold of 1,500 parts per million (ppm), shown in results posted online and included at the end of this story.
A group of parents with kids in Ontario classrooms is calling on the province to take further action to improve air ventilation, filtration, and purification in its schools.
Comments closedAs a new strain of the virus spreads, regular testing, improved air filtration, masking policies and vaccinations will ensure universities can remain inclusive.
Comments closedAbsence rates at Calgary public schools have more than doubled after the first week of school, as concerns loom over respiratory illnesses this fall and hospitals deal with an E. coli outbreak.
Comments closedSeveral grassroots groups of parents, health-care workers and teachers have sprung up across Canada to lobby for safer schools, including improved air quality.
Comments closedCOVID-19 is still here, and classrooms still represent a place where infection can spread, but there are other ways to learn and engage with students.
Comments closedNew York State is sending masks and COVID-19 rapid tests to school districts that request them for the start of the 2023-24 school year.
Comments closedAs the school year begins, it is past time to talk about the threat that SARS-CoV-2, the highly transmissible airborne virus that causes COVID-19, poses to the health of students.
Not only can the disease cause acute illness in youth, it can also lead to debilitating lingering symptoms, known as long COVID.
Comments closedLast month, the National Institutes of Health updated its considerations for long COVID to say the burden of the condition in children “may be quite large.” Studies estimating its prevalence in pediatric populations are limited and conflicting, estimating up to 25% of children infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus could go on to develop long COVID, though it’s more likely between 2% and 10%. Older children with existing chronic diseases or who had a more severe COVID-19 infection have an increased risk.
Comments closedDozens of studies have shown that not only do N95 masks work on an individual level, but they lower transmission when people actually follow guidelines. Even the strongest critics of mask policies are forced to admit that masks themselves are effective.
Comments closedProtect Our Province is asking for HEPA filters, mask mandates, and fast-tracked COVID vaccinations.
Comments closedWith students returning to B.C. classrooms in four weeks, an open letter to the province is outlining five things the signatories say must be addressed to ensure “a safe return to school.”
Comments closedHealth-care workers are warning a lack of masking could lead to a new COVID wave come fall.
Comments closedComments closedAre we OK with children being hospitalized for infectious diseases at far higher rates, as they have recently been? Are we fine with COVID being the No. 1 cause of infectious disease-driven death in children? Also, what if there is a number of reinfections at which average outcomes really start to worsen?
As studies pour in showing post-COVID immune system damage, liberals assure us children were harmed by masks.
Comments closedThey aren’t perfect, but they certainly help curb airborne transmission of viruses.
Comments closedKeeping B.C. schools open without better COVID-19 protections is a recipe for disaster, a coalition of advocates says.
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