Some students at Maritime universities will need to mask up in class and labs
Halifax's Dalhousie University is the latest post-secondary institution to announce they will require masks to be worn in all indoor classrooms and instructional spaces when students return in September.
The reaction among students is mixed and not everybody is on board with the decision.
"To some degree, I see it as a setback,” said Dalhousie student Sam Peapell. “Me and most of my friends thought we were passed that, but we're coming back to it."
Peapell says he understands it's about limiting the spread of COVID-19 and hopes it's a temporary measure.
“The majority of my university life has been spent under a pandemic,” said Peapell. “And I've kind of gotten used to the whole no mask thing but maybe it will protect people better and keep cases lower. I guess we’ll see.”
International student Kamran Awaisi says there’s a good reason for going back to masks. He continues to see infections among friends in his social circle.
"I know two, three or more people in Halifax that got COVID-19,” said Awaisi, a computer science student at Dalhousie. “So I think bringing the masks back in the fall is really a good approach to preventing the spread of COVID-19."
Staff at Mount Saint Vincent University have been monitoring the COVID-19 situation closely and have also decided to keep a mask mandate in place for classes and labs this fall semester.
"We just felt it was a safe and good way to move forward come September,” said Maxine Brewer, a registered nurse and the health and wellness manager at MSVU. “Again, it's very evolving, so we might be lucky enough to say one day that we might actually not be wearing masks anymore, but it's something that we will be looking at on a very regular basis."
South of the border, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has rolled back its COVID-19 protocols ahead of the school year, including lifting the requirement to quarantine if deemed a close contact of someone infected and dropping social distancing.
Most schools across the U.S. have made masks optional.
Although it's not mandatory, Canada’s public health agency continues to recommend wearing masks while indoors in public places.
“I recommend that people who are going to be congregating together in public places for long periods of time, i.e. an hour at least at a time, should be wearing their masks inside,” said Dr. Lisa Barrett, an infectious disease expert located in Halifax.
Putting masking policies in place for lecture halls and labs is a good policy, said Barrett.
“If people don’t have the right message right now and have to be in those spaces, I think it behooves organizations to help people make the right choice by making it a policy,” said Barrett.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
The Body Shop Canada explores sale as demand outpaces inventory: court filing
The Body Shop Canada is exploring a sale as it struggles to get its hands on enough inventory to keep up with "robust" sales after announcing it would file for creditor protection and close 33 stores.
Vicious attack on a dog ends with charges for northern Ont. suspect
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
On federal budget, Macklem says 'fiscal track has not changed significantly'
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says Canada's fiscal position has 'not changed significantly' following the release of the federal government's budget.