Students grade five and above will be required to wear masks in all common areas besides the classroom as the 2020-2021 school year begins, according to . . .

an updated return-to-school plan revealed by Quebec Education Minister Jean-François Roberge.

The plan, which was announced on Aug. 10, went into greater detail than the one released in June with several new measures attached to it.

The government plan does not include details on how schools should handle positive COVID-19 tests for students and staff, but Roberge said those will be released in the coming weeks.

The policy on masks in schools had previously been unannounced, and now students grade five and above, teachers and staff will have to wear masks with the exception being in the classroom.

The announcement was accompanied by a change up from the initial proposal to keep students in six-person bubbles.

Instead, the bubbles will be entire classrooms where classmates will be permitted to be within two metres of each other. For all student interactions with non-classmates, social distancing will have to be observed.

Mike Dubeau, Western Quebec School Board (WQSB) director general, said he is comfortable with the plan and the government’s consultation with medical professionals.

“I think anytime when safety and security is concerned and we follow the science and we follow the recommendations of public health; I think that’s always a relief,” he said.

Dubeau agreed with Roberge’s view that wearing masks inside the classroom takes away the value that comes from “face-to-face contact.”

“I can say from an education point of view, inside the classroom it’s easier to structure and it’s better learning going on if students can interact without a mask, but only if it’s safe.”

Sending students back to school has some people concerned due to the looming risk of a second wave of COVID-19 cases, but Dubeau said that those who have valid reasons to be exempt from in-person learning will have the ability to do so.

He said that includes students who themselves are vulnerable and students who live with vulnerable family members. They can apply for exemption with a medical note in serious cases and he said there should be a feature posted on the school board’s website this week to accommodate those cases.

The plan allows for flexibility, which Dubeau said will be key in how each school structures their recess breaks and lunch breaks.

“To give you an example, an elementary school may have alternative recess times for different classes to avoid large-scale gatherings in common areas such as hallways or cafeterias,” he explained.

He added that he will be sitting down with all the WQSB principals this week for three days of meetings to hammer out details for the schools’ respective plans.

Classes are set to begin on Friday, Aug. 28 this year

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