Some parents say students in Ontario received ill-fitted masks upon return to schools
Some parents in Ontario are raising concerns about the three-ply cloth masks their children received from schools this week, saying the masks are too big and not protective enough against the highly-contagious Omicron variant.
The provincial government said it would be providing school staff with N95 masks and students with three-ply cloth masks as in-person learning resumed this week.
A spokeswoman said the province sends a mix of sizes to boards, which have the flexibility to place varying orders for the sizes their students need. A few boards said the masks they received were too big for some young children and said they were working on addressing the issue.
In Guelph, Ont., Nathan Poulton said his two kids - aged four and six - received one three-ply cloth mask each from school, but the mask doesn't fit his younger son's face well.
"It fits one kid and … just kind of sags off the other kid's face," he said. "It is adjustable, but the size difference between a four-year-old and a six-year-old's faces is pretty big."
Poulton said he recently purchased child-sized N95 masks for his kids, and plans to give them those to use instead, since they fit better and are higher grade masks.
The Upper Grand District School Board in Guelph said the board has heard "some comments that the masks are too big for some students."
Spokeswoman Heather Loney said school administrators have been reminded "to ensure the fit of the cloth masks and to make every effort to ensure that students receive an appropriately sized mask when distributed."
The board said it received the masks from the Ministry of Education based on the enrollment numbers - children in kindergarten received "child" masks, those in Grades 1 to 6 received "youth" masks, while students in Grades 7 and 8 received "adult" masks. The board has also purchased additional student masks to ensure "readily available and additional size options," Loney said.
The Durham District School Board also said it noticed some masks shipped from the province were "too large for most students" and said it had requested smaller masks.
In the Toronto area, Jenna Leon said her seven-year-old daughter received one mask this week that was "way too big" and called the quality of it "mediocre."
"The upper part is too big to go up her nose. The width is too loose and floppy. The ties for the ears don't do anything to tighten the mask," she said.
Leon said her daughter will wear medical masksthe family purchased until N95 masks she ordered arrive at their home.
"It's so hard to understand how this is layers of robust protection for my child at school," she said of the mask her daughter received at a school in the Halton Catholic District School Board.
The Halton board did not respond to a request for comment.
Kristen Fenlon, whose two kids attend a school in the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board, said the masks her children received are also far too big.
"I would say they're probably an extra large size ... they didn't even fit me," she said, adding that her children will be wearing the higher grade medical masks she purchased.
The Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board said it hadn't received any complaints from parents and "had no input on sizes or quantities" of masks sent by the province.
In a statement, a spokeswoman for Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the government sends "pro-active allocations to boards" with a mix of sizes.
Caitlin Clark said when boards place orders for the masks, "they have the flexibility to order whatever volume in whatever size they would like and need for their student populations."
"With even more shipments of varying sizes on the way, we encourage boards to work with students to ensure they're receiving the right size option," she said.
Clark noted that Ontario is following the expert advice of the chief medical officer of health, Children's Health Coalition and Ontario's Science Table "regarding PPE use to protect schools and reduce risk for students and staff."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 21, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
'Sophisticated' cyberattacks detected on B.C. government networks, premier says
There has been a "sophisticated" cybersecurity breach detected on B.C. government networks, Premier David Eby confirmed Wednesday evening.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
Canucks beat Oilers 5-4 in comeback to take Game 1
The Vancouver Canucks won the first game of their NHL playoffs series with the Edmonton Oilers 5-4 on Wednesday night coming back from a three-goal deficit.
Nijjar murder suspect says he had Canadian study permit in immigration firm's video
One of the Indian nationals accused of murdering British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar says in a social media video that he received a Canadian study permit with the help of an Indian immigration consultancy.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.