Dr. Bonnie Henry, provincial health officer, says even with rising rates of respiratory illness, especially among children, a mask mandate is not necessary at this time.
“I don’t think we need that heavy hand of a mandate,” Henry said. “I don’t see the need for a mask mandate per se because we have so many other tools and a high level of protection.”
Henry said previous mask mandates were imposed when COVID-19 vaccines were not available for children and when there was a high rate of illness and absenteeism among adults and restrictions on collection.
“In this context, masks were important and necessary. Now we are in a different situation. We have a very high level of immunity. We have vaccines. We have treatments for flu, for COVID-19, for RSV.”
Henry said the latest data shows that the most commonly seen illness among BC children is influenza A and, to a lesser extent, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection.
He said overall, cases of COVID-19 were stabilizing across the province, and with high levels of immunity and vaccination against COVID-19, a major resurgence of the virus was unlikely.
When it comes to children being required to wear masks in schools, Henry said previous mask mandates had negative consequences for school-aged children.
Both Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix encouraged the use of masks in settings where it makes sense: in traffic, in crowds and when sick, to name a few.