Masks will be mandatory at times in B.C. schools

Staff and students at middle and secondary schools in British Columbia will be required to wear masks on buses and in common areas when classes resume.

The provincial government says masks will also be required whenever students and teachers are outside their learning group and cannot maintain an appropriate physical distance because of COVID-19.

The province says students who can't wear masks for medical reasons will be exempt from the updated health and safety guidelines.

The government says when they are wearing masks, staff and students will still have to maintain a physical distance from people outside of their learning group, which consists of students and staff who remain together through a school quarter, semester or year.

In a news release, the government says it is providing additional funding to schools to help pay for the purchase of up to 1.5 million non-medical masks.

It says the funding would provide for at least two masks for every staff member and student at the province's public schools.