Masks will remain optional for now for students at area school boards.
As the province battles the sixth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the local health unit is reminding residents to practice safe gatherings and other prevention strategies.
Lambton Kent District School Board Director of Education John Howitt said the board recently discussed the idea of re-implementing masks for students and staff.
"However we don't feel that there is a legal backing or structure for our board of trustees to impose a masking policy at this time," said Howitt. "Instead, we follow the guidelines provided by the Ministry of Education, and/or the chief medical officer of health and local medical officer's of health."
Director of Education with the St. Clair Catholic District School Board Scott Johnson said the board is in regular contact with both the Lambton and Chatham-Kent Public Health units.
Howitt said at the public school board, they've seen higher rates of COVID related absenteeism, among both students and staff since just before the March Break.
"The student rate was as high as 17 per cent but has been steadily declining and is approaching 10 per cent absence," he said. "The staff rate has been hovering in the nine to 10 per cent, either because they are ill or isolating."
"We meet with them on a weekly basis both over the phone and via e-mail as need be," said Johnson. "If conditions change, it would be a quick response on our side of the house to comply with any directions that they have, and changes for mask requirements."
Johnson said they also experienced higher absenteeism rates over the last month.
"Prior to March Break, we had close to 25 per cent of our students absent during some weeks and up to 15 per cent of our staff absent, so it's now about half of what it was five weeks ago."
The provincial government lifted mandatory masking in most indoor public settings, including schools, on March 21.
