Minister of Education Glenys Hanna-Martin expressed hopes yesterday that the mask mandate in schools will soon be lifted.
The mask mandate, which was implemented in 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, was lifted on Saturday for most places except in the classrooms, healthcare centers and facilities for the elderly.
This means that students and teachers do not have to wear masks at restaurants or on public transportation, but they do have to wear them during class.
When asked about this yesterday, Hanna-Martin replied, “I understand their concern and I have raised that with the minister of health and he has raised it with his team and we are raising the modification of these rules. It’s a serious situation and I’m just trusting that very soon, the students in the classroom will be freed of wearing masks during learning time.”
She said education officials are “very empathetic” to the situation given the heat.
Hanna-Martin said the minister of health indicated that he is monitoring the situation and will lift the mask requirement in classrooms “when he deems it appropriate”.
“I notice a lot of students are outdoors and still wearing masks,” she said.
“When you’re outdoors, you don’t have to wear the masks. That’s what he advises me. And so, I think that the break should provide relief from the wearing of masks and we are hoping that very soon, the students and teachers in the classroom will be able to be alleviated of the situation.”
Minister of Health Dr. Michael Darville said there are ongoing discussions between the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health.
“We believe that with in-depth discussions, we will be able to meet the mandate as outlined by Glenys Hanna-Martin,” he said.
As of October 1, there have been 37,309 reported cases of COVID-19 in The Bahamas since the pandemic began in March 2020.
Fourteen people were in hospital and there were 127 active cases.
The Ministry of Health and Wellness reported a total of 833 COVID deaths.
As of September 24, a total of 172,598 people were fully vaccinated in the country.
“The vaccination levels among school-aged children are among the lowest, I would say sub-optimal; they are just the lowest. The same can be said for the groups that work with them,” Acting Chief Medical Officer Phillip Swann said last week.
“There are some challenges with parents adhering to protocols with taking children for testing when they present with symptoms of an influenza-like illness.”
