MONTREAL — Mask-wearing mandates in Quebec schools could soon end, according to the province’s director of public health, Dr. Luc Boileau, who told La Presse that health authorities are considering a move.

“We have to ask ourselves if we still have to ask for this protection for children,” Boileau told the newspaper, adding that millions of children have already caught the virus and are unlikely to be re-infected within months. future. .

Boileau says he and his team will study a statistical justification for the change over the weekend.

But even if a significant portion of students are immune, some say it’s still too early.

“I believe that if Omicron is brought into the classroom space and no masks are used, those who remain susceptible, meaning they haven’t had the infection since mid-December, will have a very high probability of being infected,” said Dr Earl Rubin, pediatric infectious disease specialist.

Teachers are also concerned that removing mask rules could put them at increased risk, Rubin said.

“They’re worried about bringing it home to their kids, they’re worried about the long COVID,” he said.

It is difficult to determine how many students and teachers have caught COVID-19 in Quebec since the province limited testing for COVID-19 to certain priority groups.

As of February 15, 24,742 students (about 2.5%) were absent from school with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19. As for school staff, this number was 3,177, or about 1.3%.

“Children are like adults,” said Heidi Yetman, president of the Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers, when asked how she thought students would react to the relaxation of mask measures.

“Some of them will say, ‘yes, finally I can take it off’, and some will be worried,” she said, “because they’ve been told, time and time again, that you protecting yourself and others by wearing a mask.