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“Believe it or not, our kids are resilient,” she said. “They’re more resilient than we are. They will complain less than adults. They will adapt, it will become the new normal to them.”
Mandatory masks is something parents, teachers, and union leaders have been calling for for weeks, if not months, with no action from policy-makers.
“It’s frustrating. I’m not going to lie to you,” Mochdie said. “We feel like we’re not being heard. I feel like my kids are being put on the front line without any protection, just because they’re kids and they’re not affected as badly as adults by the original strain of the virus.”
Dr. Bonnie Henry, the provincial health officer, appeared to suggest earlier this week that the guidance for schools may be updated, stating “there will be more about that in the coming days.”
“I do think it’s important to enforce the mask wearing that we have in the school setting, and particularly in light of variants that we’re seeing in our community,” Henry said Monday.
The Ministry of Education was mum Tuesday on whether changes were coming.
Leona McEachern, the parent of three school-age kids in Maple Ridge, said she felt fear and anger after hearing about the new variant in her city.
“I don’t feel that enough is being done by the provincial government to keep our schools safe,” McEachern said.
She did, however, applaud health officials for rapid testing people from Garibaldi Secondary. She said she’d like to see that kind of response whenever an exposure happens.
