The government of New Brunswick has released a document on Thursday providing more details of what parents and students need to know before returning to school in September.
On June 12, the province released a plan to provide school districts with the help they need to begin planning a safe and healthy return to school, but this new document further defines this plan, which seeks to ensure protective measures are in place for all students, families and schools amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“The decisions and processes defined in this plan were not made lightly or without due consideration. We have undertaken significant consultation with education system partners, stakeholders and Public Health,” Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development Dominic Cardy said in the report.
In the document, Cardy says a safe and healthy learning environment will be one of the plan’s main focuses. This includes the following:
- Each school will have an operational plan laying out the health and safety guidelines.
- Individual school operational plans will be shared with parents before school resumes.
- Kindergarten to Grade 8 class grouping (bubbles) will minimize the risk of transmission in the school setting and promote safe social interactions. Class groupings will facilitate contact tracing.
- High schools will use blended learning, create more personalized learning opportunities and use physical distancing to minimize the risk of transmission.
All these decisions have been made in an effort to minimize the spread of COVID-19, but in case an outbreak does take place, the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development and Public Health said they have developed an “outbreak management process.”
This process ensures that “roles and responsibilities are understood when there is a positive COVID-19 case identified in the school system.”
“Parents, students and school personnel may become anxious if there is a positive case confirmed in a school. It is natural to want to know if a positive case is in your child’s class,” the province stated.
“Public Health will inform those who are at risk of the next steps but will not release the names of those people who have tested positive. The protection of privacy remains a priority.”
When there is a positive case in a school, the province said the school will be informed by Public Health, then the school administration will communicate with parents and the school community.
With the support of the school system, Public Health would then do contact tracing.
“Through their operational plan, schools will be able to provide Public Health with a list of individuals who may have come into contact with a positive COVID-19 case,” the province said.
Public Health will, through contact tracing and risk management, make decisions on who self-isolates. According to the government, this may require an individual or several individuals, a classroom or multiple classrooms or even a school population to self-isolate.
Students will also need to bring a refillable bottle, as drinking fountains will replaced with bottle filling stations.
She said families have an important role to play in the safe return to school.
According to Russell, “families can positively impact their children and contribute to the health of their communities by”:
- Modelling the behaviours needed to limit the spread of COVID-19, such as handwashing, proper cough and sneeze etiquette and staying home when sick.
- Monitoring children daily for symptoms and calling 811 or their primary health-care provider to arrange testing if symptoms occur.
- Talking to their children about COVID-19 and why their lives may look and feel different for a while.
Dr. Russell, who was also at the press briefing, encouraged parents to talk to their employers, preparing for the possibility they might have to stay home with their child should they become sick or have to stay home.
“Public Health has worked collaboratively in establishing this comprehensive approach to returning to school safely and will continue to be involved throughout the school year,” said Russell.
“From providing guidance on prevention measures to managing an outbreak, Public Health will be with our students, families, educators and school staff every step of the way.”
The full report can be read here.