A group of Nova Scotia parents are calling on the province to maintain its quarantine restrictions on visitors from outside the Atlantic region, claiming that if the province opens up to the rest of Canada, it will have a significant impact on the school year.
The Parents for Pandemic Education group has penned an open letter to the province, with hopes of keeping the Atlantic bubble intact a little while longer.
“You can’t have both,” said Raven Watts, who signed the letter. “(You can’t) have the province open the borders, open to the rest of Canada without the 14 day isolation, and schools open.
“You have to choose one or the other.”
Watts says she is on board with the Department of Education’s plan to have students fully back in the classroom come September, but it will be all for nothing in there is a spike in travel-related COVID-19 cases.
“(Schools) are the most important place for them,” Watts said. “That’s where they need to be, that’s where the parents need their kids to be. We’re not teachers, so we need our kids to be with who they’re supposed to be with.”
As of now, the Atlantic bubble remains intact. Anyone who travels to Atlantic Canada from the rest of the country is required to self-isolate for 14 days.
Even though school doesn’t start for another five weeks, Watts believes it’s important to get their message out earlier to ensure it can be heard.
“We’ve stayed the blazes home, done what we were asked, and now we’re asking for the same thing in return. To keep our kids safe, to keep our families safe,” said Watts.
Jason Morrison, a father of three from Halifax, also signed the latter. He’s concerned about the economic consequences that would come if the bubble is burst, resulting in another COVID-19 flare up.
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“You have to think about the economy in a global way, and all the things that the government spends on,” he said. “Things like school, health care, jobs, these are all things that have to be factored in when you make this decision.”
Morrison also feels it’s important for parents and children to have a say in the reopening discussion.
“I think business leaders have ready access to the premier and government, but I’m not sure kids do,” he said. “It feels a little bit like the consequences of the pandemic on children has been really de-emphasized.”’
Dr. Ajantha Jayabarathan, a family physician, stresses that Nova Scotia should maintain its conservative approach to reopening to the rest of Canada, as new evidence has shown COVID-19 is mutating.
“This is not intended to cause fear among people, but we have to intelligently understand how this organism actually works and how it spreads,” she said. “But it appears that the virus has grown more contagious.”
Because of that and the ever-evolving information about asymptomatic spread, Dr. Jayabarathan would like to see students and teachers wearing masks inside classrooms and not just in the hallways.
“The hallways are important, but the classroom where students can be there for the better part of an hour or longer, I think are the more important spaces,” said Dr. Jayabarathan, adding that public health needs to be clear about whether asymptomatic-spread testing will be conducted in schools.
On Thursday, Premier Stephen McNeil said there is still no date set for when Nova Scotia will open up to the rest of Canada.
For Watts and Morrison, it’s all about keeping the health and safety of children at the forefront, even in the summer months.
“I just don’t think it’s fair for parents not to have a say in our kids safety when we’ve done so much to keep our province safe,” said
“Maybe this kind of messaging, parents speaking out about our concerns and speaking out for our kids, will give a chance for sober second thought,” said Morrison.
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