Burnaby school board mandates masks for K-3 students

The Burnaby School Board has mandated masks for students in Kindergarten to Grade 12.

The decision was made unanimously at a special school board meeting on Thursday morning.

BC’s current mask mandate in schools applies to students in Grade 4 and up. In a release, the Burnaby Board of Education stated that Fraser Health’s medical officer met with school board members on an “urgent basis” on Wednesday evening.

“Her assurance that masks are an effective layer of protection for all students when used in concert with other health and safety measures informed the Board’s decision to promptly implement this new mask requirement for K-3 students,” stated the board.

The mandate will go into place on Oct. 4. All students will have to wear their masks indoors at school unless they are “medically, developmentally, behaviourally or otherwise legitimately precluded from doing so,” said the board

Burnaby’s announcement comes after both the Vancouver and Surrey school boards mandated masks for all students in those districts this week.