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
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their “extremely dangerous” experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Half of Canadians have negative opinion of latest Liberal budget: poll
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
Teacher shortages see some Ontario high school students awarded perfect grades on midterm exams
Students at a high school in York Region have been awarded perfect marks on their midterm exams in three subjects – not because of their academic performances however, but because they had no teacher.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
An Ontario senior thought he called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.
Her fiance has been in prison for 49 years. She's trying to free him before it’s too late
She was lying in bed on a Thursday morning, thinking about the man she loved, hoping to win his freedom before time ran out.