New Brunswick’s top doctor says that parents will likely feel anxious about the return to school but that they should “stay calm” in order to help young students and protect them from unnecessary stress.
Dr. Jennifer Russell, New Brunswick’s chief medical officer of health, said that kids can pick up on stress and asked that parents learn to take it “day by day.”
Russell was joined by Dr. Linda Hoyt, a psychiatrist with Horizon Health Network, on Wednesday.
The pair spoke about returning to school during the COVID-19 pandemic and answered questions submitted by the public on the subject.
“We’re going to be anxious,” Hoyt said. “That’s OK.”
Russell said it is everybody’s fear that there will be an outbreak as soon as schools reopen, but reminded New Brunswickers that the number of cases in the province remains low.
As of Wednesday, there were only four active cases in New Brunswick.
‘Balancing the risk of infection’
“We are balancing the risk of infection with COVID-19 and transmission of the virus with the harm of school closures on children’s physical health, developmental health and learning,” Russell said.
“The evidence we’ve seen to now supports the idea that children and youth can return to school in a way that maximizes their health and minimizes risks.”
The province’s top doctor admitted that it’s hard to guess what level of outbreaks the province could see as schools return but said they have enough evidence and experience to react to potential outbreaks.
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Both of the doctors are parents themselves and said that everyone is going to have to work together — both students and their parents — in order to have a positive experience.
“Be sure to practise self-care, take some time for yourself if you can, eat well and exercise and stay on top of your own feelings of anxiety,” Hoyt said.
Russell said that it will be necessary to normalize having students stay home if they do come in contact with a potential case of COVID-19 and need to get tested.
She said that self-isolation will be used to allow for tests to be processed, with New Brunswick aiming for a 48-hour turnaround period for testing results.
Classroom bubbles
The province announced on Tuesday that it will limit class sizes to classroom bubbles in order to limit the number of potential contacts students interact with.
For students in Kindergarten to Grade 2, the group size will be reduced to as close to 15 as possible, grades 3 to 5 will have groupings close to 22 students and grades 6 to 8 will have regular class sizes.
The idea is that classroom bubbles would allow students to interact with other students and staff without physical distancing. This means “they will be able to play, do crafts and group work throughout the day.”
However, students are being encouraged to bring their own supplies, and any supplies that are shared should be cleaned at the end of the day.
According to the province, students will still need to physically distance from other groups and from students outside their classroom grouping by two metres.
Masks for students
Russell reminded parents about the rules around masks in school.
Students in kindergarten to Grade 5 will not be required to wear a mask, although it will be encouraged in common areas.
Students from Grade 6 to Grade 12 will be required to wear a mask in common areas but will not have to wear one in class.
Teachers will be required to wear masks.
Hoyt said that the wearing of masks will be different for students and that it could pose a challenge for those who have learning difficulties or who are learning a second language.
But she stressed that non-medical masks do help reduce the spread of the coronavirus.
“Parents can help kids get used to wearing those masks,” Hoyt said.
“Help them to wear it appropriately, give them time to practise ahead of time, teach them how to use them properly so that they are better able to succeed when they have to use them at school.”
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