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March 9, 2022 – With today’s announcement, we want to thank everyone, including students and education staff, for your commitment to and diligence with public health measures throughout the pandemic. We know that masking, daily screening, cohorting and distancing have been tough, but adherence to these measures has allowed schools to remain open.

Keeping schools open has been the most important goal, and we have been pleased to see the decline in school absenteeism, outbreaks, and pediatric hospitalizations over the past eight weeks. The disruption to in-person schooling, due to illness or school closures, has certainly had a negative impact on kids’ learning, development and mental health.

Since we know that most cases of COVID-19 identified in schools originate outside of school, we would have preferred to see masks kept in place for two weeks after March Break so we could have assessed the impact of the broader re-opening of Ontario. Masks remain an important layer of protection as the pandemic continues and may be needed in communities with low vaccination rates and where there is a surge in cases. Masks also protect those most vulnerable, including high-risk, immunocompromised and fragile children.

With the removal of the indoor mask mandate today, for now, we encourage everyone to continue masking in schools, if they are able, to reduce absenteeism and support sustained in-person learning as a precautionary and phased approach as we come out of the Omicron wave. We are pleased that the Chief Medical Officer of Health is continuing to encourage masking as well and that the government is making rapid tests broadly available. We may have to, and would encourage, a return to universal masking when there is a surge in cases that put children and their families at risk.

As a group whose commitment is to the health and well-being of children, we all want the pandemic to be a memory for our kids, not part of their day-to-day. But we’re not quite there yet, and we ask everyone to continue to be thoughtful of those around them and their needs and choices when it comes to masking.

About the Children’s Health Coalition: The Children’s Health Coalition is a collective of children’s health organizations made up of CHEO, Children’s Hospital – London Health Sciences Centre, Children’s Mental Health Ontario, Empowered Kids Ontario, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Kids Health Alliance, McMaster Children’s Hospital, and SickKids.

Learn more about the COVID-19 vaccine for children at parenthomework.ca.

March 3, 2022 – The school safety plan has been effective. From mid-January onwards, COVID wastewater monitoring indicators, pediatric hospitalizations and school absenteeism have declined. Before making any decision on the removal of masks in schools, we would prefer that decision-makers look at what core indicators say—things like a stabilization or reduction in case counts, hospitalizations, and ICU numbers. Given Ontario’s reopening and March Break, it makes sense to wait until at least two weeks after the end of the break to review those indicators and make a decision for Ontario’s schools.

COVID in schools tends to reflect COVID in the broader community. Let’s wait until we better understand the impact of a broader re-opening before we change measures that have successfully kept schools open since January.

February 28, 2022 – As leaders in children’s health, we know that masking is an important layer of protection to prevent COVID-19 and has prevented widespread transmission in school settings. While there have been recent calls to remove this public health measure, now is not the time. Masking in indoor school settings is still required to protect children and their families.

Case counts and hospitalizations while on the decline, remain high. Many children remain unvaccinated. Young children are still ineligible. The evidence is clear: Masking helps prevent transmission not only at school but prevents kids from then spreading COVID at home to unvaccinated siblings, family or community members.

While we remain optimistic that this measure can be adjusted soon, we ask that the government continue to require masking in schools to protect children’s health. An increase in vaccination rates for children aged 5–11 and boosters for 12–17, which remain lower in Ontario than in most of Canada, would be one way to do this. As soon as the evidence suggests otherwise—and we rely on evidence to make our recommendations—then alternatives can be considered.

For now, let’s ensure kids remain as healthy as they can in schools by keeping their masks on.

February 9, 2022 – As leaders in children’s health, we are pleased that additional Rapid Access Tests (RATs) are being made available to Ontarians. In the absence of widespread PCR testing, RATs are an important tool to continue to monitor and prevent COVID-19 transmission. We urge the government to ensure that every school, child care and health care setting continue to be prioritized in their distribution. Parents and families should be able to access RATs from their school or day care when they need it.

Additionally, we ask that the government exercise caution in lifting public health measures in schools too fast and too soon while we remain in the Omicron wave. Kids, parents and families have been subject to many rules and changes throughout the pandemic. They need stability. Ontario has a comprehensive school safety plan which includes many important public health mitigation measures, and we encourage government to continue with this plan.

We remain optimistic there will be a point when we can adjust these measures—but now is not the time. Many of our children remain unvaccinated, including those under five who are ineligible, and without that level of protection, they are at risk of contracting COVID-19 illness. And as we know too well, complex and medically fragile kids continue to be at greater risk of the effects of COVID. That’s why we must all continue to promote vaccination, masking and reducing of contacts to protect kids and their health. We all have a part to play in keeping our children healthy.