Masks will be mandatory this fall in the Winnipeg School Division

WINNIPEG -

Winnipeg’s largest school division will make masks mandatory for students, staff and school visitors this fall.

The Winnipeg School Division (WSD) announced Friday that the Board of Trustees has unanimously agreed to make masks mandatory for the 2021-22 school year.

The province previously announced that masks would not be mandatory at school this fall, but would allow school divisions to set their own rules. Since then, multiple school divisions in Winnipeg, including the Louis Riel School Division, River East Transcona School Division and Seven Oaks School Division have announced plans to mandate masks when school resumes in September.

According to a news release, the board sent a written request to Minister of Education Cliff Cullen to reconsider their decision and mandate masks in schools to reduce the spread of the Delta variant. The WSD said they have not received a reply.

“We believe that a provincial mandate, supported by a public health order, would be more effective and consistent; however, we also recognize that the vast majority of WSD parents and guardians want to have the reassurance now that their children will be provided this basic level of protection from the virus,” says Betty Edel, chair of the WSD Board of Trustees, in a statement. “Therefore, when WSD staff and students return to school in September, masks will be required.”

The Manitoba Teachers’ Society is also calling for mandatory vaccines for school staff when classes resume.