Speaking to reporters today, Education Minister Dominic Cardy continues to say it is not his call and Public Health has not responded to the letter.
Mask commands in schools were removed last month along with all other mandatory restrictions for COVID-19.
In response to public fear and criticism – and the increase in hospitalizations and cases – Prime Minister Blaine Higgs and Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Jennifer Russell said that if the Department of Education wants to reinstate the mandate, it can.
However, Cardy said it was up to the “experts” to make that decision, not politicians like himself.
“Never [scientists and experts] “They have something to tell us, they need to talk,” he told a news conference on March 30.
The 19 pediatricians took over the minister with his offer.
“We do not believe we have yet escaped the forest with the COVID-19 pandemic,” they wrote.
Dominique Cardi, the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development, had previously stated that he would not make the cover-up debate a policy and would leave it to the “experts”. (Jonathan Colicott / CBC)
In a letter to Cardy, Higgs, Russell and Secretary of Health Dorothy Shephard, doctors said COVID-19 was an airborne virus and that coverage and vaccination had been shown to protect against the transmission and severity of the infection.
“Given the importance of the school for the development and well-being of the child, we strongly recommend that we return to the continued use of the mask indoors for the rest of the academic year, so that students and staff remain healthy and watch,” the doctors wrote. .
In a press conference Monday afternoon, Cardi said he was not going to “formulate a health policy” and would continue to wait for Public Health to listen to the experts and reach a consensus.
“I’m not a doctor. I’m not a specialist,” he said. “I see the same numbers as everyone else and I definitely have concerns.”
Cardi said he would not share whether he personally believed the mask commands should be restored.
He said he believed he did not have the power, and would be against his principles, to decide what the right health policy was to follow.
Public Health did not respond to a request from the CBC for an interview regarding the letter on Monday.
According to the New Brunswick College of Physicians and Surgeons, there are 55 pediatricians and pediatricians based in New Brunswick. The 19 who signed the letter are mainly general pediatricians, but include neonatologists and pediatric neurologists.
Dr Sarah Gander, one of the signatories, said the letter was written on Thursday, sent to doctors across the province and forwarded to the government on Sunday night.
“It was a pretty quick reversal,” he said.
Gander said “the proof is in the pudding” when it comes to the importance of using a mask in schools. He said the number of infected children and families has increased dramatically since the restrictions were lifted.
“After the lifting of these restrictions, there was a clear result, many students and parents and health workers became ill,” he said.
The number of Vitalité Health Network employees who are absent from work due to COVID-19 has increased by 41 percent in eight days, with 352 employees excluding due to COVID-19 by March 30. Data from the school district also showed a sharp increase in the number of teachers calling for illness after the March break.
Gander said there is a right time to remove mask commands, but it is not now.
He said it was not the right time because doctors did not understand how soon a person could become infected again, as the facts are not clear.
Also, the vaccination rate for children between the ages of five and 11 is delayed and many do not receive their second dose and are not adequately protected.
The countryside is also not in a place where people continue to wear masks when they feel unwell, even if they are not required to.
“It’s not just a phenomenon all or none,” he said.
Dr Sarah Gander says she hopes leadership can be agile when it comes to coverage orders in schools. (Submitted by Sarah Gander)
Gander said that as soon as summer came, windows could be opened and case measurements and vaccination rates looked better, mask commands could be relaxed more safely.
The letter states that cases and hospitalizations remain high and that continuing staff shortages in healthcare and education are causing significant disruptions.
“In addition to child protection, many healthcare and education workers are parents and this will help alleviate the number of workers being laid off due to infection or exposure,” the letter said.
Doctors have identified New Scotland, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador, which have retained all school coverage requirements.
“Restoring mask orders to schools and childcare centers is not only the most responsible course of action, it is also consistent with measures in the other three Atlantic provinces,” they wrote.
Gander said the message she hoped officials would pass on was that it was not a failure to restore order.
“True leadership and integrity in leadership have the ability to change your mind with the new information provided,” he said.
“What I would like to see the leadership do is say, ‘Okay, we saw what happened. It’s not working. Let’s go back to the masks indoors for schools and kindergartens and then see if we can get over those next two months.’ . ‘”
The letter stated that the Nova Scotia Pediatric Pandemic Advisory Group, which consists of specialist pediatricians from the IWK Health Center and surrounding communities, also agrees that the compulsory school mask should be continued.
“We ask the same for our children,” the doctors wrote.
Cardy holds press conference to answer media questions at 2:45 p.m.
