A former southwestern Saskatchewan resident and now high-profile doctor is commending the Chinook School Division on part of their back-to-school plan.

The plan released by the school division last week includes mandatory masks for all students and staff in hallways, washrooms, common spaces, and buses.

"I think it's encouraging to see the school district take that on themselves," Dr. Katharine Smart, the president of the Canadian Medical Association, said. "They're obviously asking for masking in settings where children are more crowded together.

"I think what you're seeing in your school district there, is they're trying their best to fill that gap," she said. "They're putting forward much stricter guidelines than what the province is asking them to do, which makes sense but I also think it's unfortunate that these decisions are being downloaded onto individual school boards."

She did say she's surprised to see vaccines for teachers not be mandatory, especially considering the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation is asking for that to be implemented.

"It's also great to see teachers advocating there," she said. "Because I think Saskatchewan is on a concerning trajectory right now, the cases are going up, the province has one of the lowest rates of vaccines in Canada, and a government that is not wanting to really take any action."

Currently, 64.7 per cent of people in Saskatchewan are considered fully vaccinated, which is the lowest of the ten provinces across Canada. Southwestern Saskatchewan's rate is even lower at 53.1 per cent.