B.C. braces for return to in-person learning amid Omicron wave
As students and teachers prepare to return to in-person learning on Monday, many parents are being forced to make a difficult decision: Keep their child at home or drop them off at school?
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has been reluctant to close schools and require students to learn online again, as they were required to do in spring 2020.
Speaking at a news conference last week, the province’s top doctor emphasized the desire to keep kids in classrooms as much as possible.
“We know schools are safe. They’re the best and safest place for our children and they are essential for their social and emotional development as well as intellectual development,” Henry said Tuesday.
She said keeping kids in school is among the highest priorities in the province right now, and that doing so would require flexibility from all, including parents and teachers.
British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan are the only provinces heading back to the classroom this week. The rest of country will temporarily switch to remote learning until at least Jan. 17, a decision some B.C. parents say this province should have made weeks ago.
“I can’t understand why they would even attempt this,” said Mollie Kaye, a parent in Victoria.
Kaye told CTV News she will not be sending her daughter back to the classroom on Monday, as she believes there will be functional closures by the end of the week.
“Anyone who sends their kids back to school in these first few days is basically saying, ‘I agree to be one of the stats that leads to the functional closure,’” Kaye said. “I think this is going to be one of the moments where we look back and say, ‘My government told me it was safe and I had no idea what might happen,’ in terms of long-term post viral consequences of this variant.”
Community transmission is at an all-time high across B.C. The latest numbers from the province on Friday showed there are currently 33,184 active, lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in B.C., an all-time high since the pandemic began.
That number is almost certainly an undercount, however, given that the provincial testing system has reached its maximum capacity.
According to the latest report from the independent BC COVID-19 Modelling Group, the actual number of active cases in B.C. is likely around 250,000.
At a news conference on Friday, Henry and B.C.’s Education Minister Jennifer Whiteside announced new safety measures for schools, including staggered breaks, virtual assemblies and a three-layer mask requirement. However, the current mask mandate has exemptions, according to Surrey teacher and elected member of the Surrey Teachers Association Lizanne Foster.
“Lots of parents have been using those exemptions. So you have students coming into class who are refusing to wear a mask,” said Foster. “It’s exhausting. It’s just exhausting. The sad thing is that there are solutions.”
Foster said there is exceptional anxiety among teachers and parents, especially parents who have immunocompromised children.
“Last year, we had far more structure that would make students who are medically vulnerable safer,” she said. “We had cohorts so teachers were only exposed to two groups of students a day. Mask-wearing was also taken more seriously.”
Right now, only 40 per cent of children aged five to 11 have been vaccinated with one dose. Foster said that number needs to be higher and boosters need to be better prioritized for teachers.
“We also have overcrowded, badly ventilated classrooms,” she added. “We need to find better ways to filter the air.”
“We can make schools absolutely safe. Right now, they’re not.”
Staff and students at BCIT will also be returning to campus on Monday.
More than 3,000 students have signed a petition to delay in-person learning.
“A lot of other universities are just completely online or partially online for the safety of the students; we think BCIT should be doing the same,” said Hailey Schoenhials, a student at BCIT who supports the petition.
A shipment of rapid tests is expected to arrive on the West Coast this week, and many of the sought-after tests will be designated for B.C.’s schools.
The COVID-19 tests will be used for symptomatic teachers and staff, Henry said.
They’ll primarily be used to help officials understand where outbreaks and clusters are happening, so health officials can support B.C. schools.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Chants of 'shame on you' greet guests arriving for the annual White House correspondents' dinner
An election-year roast of U.S. President Joe Biden before journalists, celebrities and politicians at the annual White House correspondents' dinner Saturday.
What is a 'halal mortgage'? Does it make housing more accessible?
The 2024 federal budget announced on April 16 included plans to introduce “halal mortgages” as a way to increase access to home ownership.
Here's where Canadians are living abroad: report
A recent report sheds light on Canadians living abroad--estimated at around four million people in 2016—and the public policies that impact them.
Deadly six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 sparked by road rage incident
One person was killed in a six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 in Innisfil Friday evening.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Harvey Weinstein hospitalized after return to New York from upstate prison
Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer said Saturday that the onetime movie mogul has been hospitalized for a battery of tests after his return to New York City following an appeals court ruling nullifying his 2020 rape conviction.
'We are declaring our readiness': No decision made yet as Poland declares it's ready to host nuclear weapons
Polish President Andrzej Duda says while no decision has been made around whether Poland will host nuclear weapons as part of an expansion of the NATO alliance’s nuclear sharing program, his country is willing and prepared to do so.
Central Alberta queer groups react to request from Red Deer-South to reinstate Jennifer Johnson to UCP caucus
A number of LGBQT+2s groups in Central Alberta are pushing back against a request from the Red Deer South UCP constituency to reinstate MLA Jennifer Johnson into the UCP caucus.