Secondary school pupils in Bridgend county borough must wear face masks on school transport as part of the area's local lockdown measures.
Bridgend council introduced the new rule as a precautionary measure in response to the rising number of Covid-19 cases in the county borough, which resulted in a local lockdown from Tuesday September 22.
A council spokesperson said: “The council has been complying with Welsh Government guidance on the use of masks and face coverings throughout the pandemic.
“Following the most recent interventions and updates, we have pre-empted any further changes in the official guidance by making them mandatory on secondary school transport.
“The situation is being closely monitored and if necessary, it will be reviewed further at a later date.”
Last week, a local school bus driver urged Bridgend County Borough Council (BCBC) to make face masks compulsory on school transport out of concern he was putting himself and his family at risk of contracting Covid-19.
At the time, BCBC recommended students wear face masks on school transport but it was not mandatory.
The driver said he was driving around 50 pupils to school and back with less than ten wearing face masks.
Face masks are not compulsory for primary school pupils in Bridgend and school transport is still running as normal throughout the borough.
Local schools and colleges will be required to assess the need to wear face coverings.
The council said: "Where a decision is made to introduce the use of face coverings in the event of new local restrictions being imposed, schools and colleges will need to communicate quickly and clearly to staff, parents and learners that the new arrangements require the use of face coverings in certain circumstances."
