Mixed on masks: Some Nova Scotians unhappy students will stay masked until mid-April

After a week off, students in Nova Scotia were back in the classroom Monday, but not everyone was happy to return.

“My husband asked me why I kept puffing and I told him I was trying to breathe. I was extremely anxious just knowing the frustration that my son was having,” said parent Natalie Cunningham.

Nova Scotia dropped most COVID-19 restrictions on Monday, but masks will be required in public schools and on school buses until mid-April. The government made the announcement Friday, citing the advice of a group of pediatric experts from the IWK Health Centre.

Reaction to the decision has been mixed.

Cunningham is among those who doesn't support extended masking in schools. She says her nine-year-old son was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. He has also struggled with masking all day from the start, giving him anxiety.

“A safe range for sugar for him is between four and 10. What we are realizing directly related to the stress of schools is his sugar level is up close to 20, and today it was 23,” she said Monday.

Students were also wearing masks at Cape Breton University in Sydney, N.S., Monday.

The university announced earlier this month it was doing away with masks, but changed its stance once the province announced that masking in public schools would continue for a few more weeks.

In an email, CBU says it has always aligned with the directives of the Nova Scotia government and the chief medical officer of health, and will continue to require masks on campus until the regulation is lifted in schools across the province.

On Sunday evening, a handful of anti-maskers protested outside the Halifax-area home of Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Robert Strang.

The protesters brought signs that read, "unmask our children" and "stop the mandates."

“Restrictive measures have their own set of harms. Whether it’s financial harms, economic harms, impacts on mental health, so it’s always about finding a balance,” said Strang in an interview Monday.

The president of the Nova Scotia Teachers Union (NSTU) echoed Strang’s comment.

“There are no restrictions in schools anymore beyond mandatory masking. It's a low cost way to help protect one another,” said Paul Wozney, the president of the NSTU.

Masks are also still required in jails, hospitals and other health-care settings and long-term care facilities.