All 91原创 students from Grade 4 and up are expected to be wearing masks in classes as of this week, a big change after months in which only staff and high school students were required to mask up.

The change was part of a set of new 鈥渃ircuit breaker鈥� regulations announced Monday by provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Minister of Health Adrian Dix.

Rod Ross, chair of the 91原创 School Board, said as far as he knew, the masking was to be in place as early as Tuesday. Ultimately, an order from the provincial health authorities requires no action from the board and is to be implemented by district staff, he said.

91原创 will essentially be in the same state as Surrey, which had a mask mandate imposed on students earlier, although the district warned that the change might not be immediate.

鈥淭he Ministry has informed the district that health and safety guidelines for K-12 schools will be updated,鈥� according to a school district statement sent to parents. 鈥淎t this point, we are waiting for the details of the new mask wearing guidelines to share with students, staff, and families. We expect the mask wearing order indoors in schools to be expanded to additional grades and also to include some exceptions.鈥�

鈥淎s with any new change, we recognize it will take time for students, school administrators and staff, as well as families to adapt to these amendments,鈥� the statement said.

The lack of a mask mandate in schools had been controversial.

鈥淔or some time now, people have been requesting this,鈥� Ross noted.

The only issue 91原创 teachers had with the announcement of the broader mask mandate was that it didn鈥檛 come sooner, said Tanya Kerr, president of the 91原创 Teachers Association (LTA).

鈥淚t鈥檚 unfortunate it didn鈥檛 happen yesterday [Sunday] or even Friday,鈥� Kerr said.

Teachers and students could have returned with the mask mandate in place on the first day after spring break if the announcement had been earlier.

But Kerr said she and other LTA members listening to Monday 鈥渃lapped and cheered鈥� when the widened mask mandate was announced.

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Kerr said she hoped that families that had gone on vacation over spring break were taking the appropriate steps on their return. Non-essential travel is being strongly discouraged right now, and anyone travelling internationally by air .

Ross said there are issues with any mask mandate, including some people who oppose wearing masks.

鈥淚鈥檓 really concerned about the special needs kids,鈥� he said, adding that younger students can also be a challenge when it comes to mask wearing.

Ross said overall he was surprised about the extent of the new regulations across the province, but that the district would get through it.