BEGINNING Monday, October 4, the Surrey School District’s current COVID-19 mask mandate will be expanded to include all students in the district from kindergarten to Grade 12.
“Masks are an effective layer of protection, in concert with other measures, and we are pleased to be able to take these steps,” the Surrey Board of Education said on Wednesday.
The Board said it was taking this step after meeting with Fraser Health’s Medical Health Officer responsible for schools to discuss masking, vaccinations, exposure notifications and testing.
Other steps include:
- School-based vaccine clinics: The Surrey Board of Education will partner with Fraser Health to examine hosting vaccine clinics in its schools for the purpose of increasing vaccination rates in the communities where rates are low.
- COVID-19 Mouth Rinse/Gargle test kits: The Board will promote the use of take-home COVID-19 Mouth Rinse/Gargle Sample Collection kits to families with children who become symptomatic while at school. This initiative will help increase access to testing and work towards preventing COVID-19 transmission in the school environment.
- Notifications: The Board will continue to work with Fraser Health to do all it can to ensure that notification processes are timely, transparent, and include information about clusters.
