Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced on Friday that the provincial mask mandate has been extended to K-12 in schools.

The new measures mean that all students in School District 58, which covers the communities of Merritt and Princeton, will be required to wear masks until at least January.

Dr. Henry acknowledged that COVID-19 remains a mild illness in most kids, “but we do not want any child to be ill and we’re taking measures to prevent as much illness as we can. These measures will also help with stopping other respiratory illnesses.”

She added that the health authority will also be making sure that other measures are optimized, including reduced mixing of classes, staggering break times, reducing people in the school system, particularly if they’re not vaccinated, ventilation, and more outdoor activities, though she made no specific announcement on how these measures will be carried out.

It was announced in August of this year that the mask mandate from the previous school year would be returning in September, for grades 4 through 12.

The requirement will be in effect as of Monday, Oct. 4.

It was also announced by Dr. Henry that a new monthly report will be released that informs British Columbians about how COVID-19 affects school-aged children.

Since the start of the school year in September, COVID-19 cases across the province have been increasing among school-aged children.

“What we’ve seen is a dramatic increase in numbers of children, particularly school-aged children, who are being tested for COVID-19 in the past three weeks since school started again,” said Dr. Henry.

In a following press conference, BC Teachers Federation President Teri Mooring said that the universal mandate is something they have been calling for “for a long time.”

Mooring also added that she was hoping to hear more from Dr. Henry and staff regarding school vaccination clinics.

Though no school children have died from the virus in the province, one infant and one toddler have died.

Mandatory masks are already implemented for adults in the school system.