No classroom bubbles or masks in class when Quebec students return this fall

Quebec won't require students in primary and secondary schools to wear masks whenthey are sitting at their desks this fall as the province seeks to create a more normal classroom setting for the coming academic year.

Teachers will also not be required to wear masks if they can maintain the two-metredistance, and students will no longer need to stay in their classroom bubbles throughout the day.

Education Minister Jean-Franois Robergeannounced the changes Wednesday in laying out hisback-to-school plan.

At a news conference, Roberge said the high vaccination rate among 12- to 17-year-olds allowed for an easing of restrictions, despite the province heading into the beginning of a fourth wave of COVID-19.

As it stands, 82 per cent of teens in that age group have received a dose of vaccine, and 48 per cent have received both.Roberge said he expects at least 77 per cent will be fully vaccinated by the time classes resume.

Buthe said the increased presence of the more contagious delta variant led the province to maintain mask requirements in common areas. In June he had saidthey would not be necessary in the fall.

Isabelle Charest, the province's junior education minister, said sports and other activities would also be permitted, though a vaccination passport could be required in some cases.

WATCH | Robergesays school will be better than last year:

Roberge says back to school won't be 'normal,' but will be better than last year

3 years ago

Duration 1:06

Quebec Education Minister Jean-Franois Roberge said while students can socialize with friends, masks will be required in some settings.

Province seeks to walk 'narrow path'

The revised measures will also apply to students under 12, who are not yet eligible to be vaccinated.

Dr. Yves Jalbert, deputy director of public healthfor Quebec, acknowledged there are risks in allowing more interaction among students.

"We have to walk a narrow path between allowing students to come back to a normal way of life and fighting this pandemic," he said.

"This is the position that we have right now about the class bubbles. We'll see what happens and we are following the situation very closely."

The AMDES, anassociation representing Montreal school administrators, welcomed the plan but cautioned thatsome schools in lower income areashave lower vaccination rates, and that that inequity must be addressed.

Heidi Yetman, the president of the Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers, said she's skeptical the mask rules will be enough to contain a fourth wave.

"I'm very concerned," she said."We have no bubbles, we have no distancing between students and ventilation is still an issue."

Yetman saidthe province's ever-changing restrictionslast year took a toll on teachers, and that the government must still do more to improve air quality in classrooms to ensure the virus isn't circulating.

Air quality still a concern

Quebec's Education Ministry had promised to have CO2 detectors in every class by the beginning of the school, but later revised its target to say it would have them installed by the end of fall 2021.

At a technical briefing earlier Wednesday, officials said the province would install 90,000 detectors in all classrooms across the province starting in September through the end of December.

Radio-Canada reported Wednesday that Quebec didn't publish its call for tenders until mid-July. The accepted offers will roll out over the next four months.

Teachers will be taught how to assess the air quality in classrooms and the province will take action if required, officials said.

Despite criticism over his handling of the issue, Roberge said Wednesday Quebec was ahead of other provinces when it comes to testing and ensuring air quality in schools.