An elementary school in small-town Saskatchewan is making a last-minute change of plans after a staff member tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
Indian Head Elementary School in Indian Head, Sask., is preparing to move the entire student body’s lessons online from Sept. 10-16, Prairie Valley School Division’s education director, Luc Lerminiaux confirmed to Global News on Monday.
“That is going to be our new reality moving forward, not just in Prairie Valley, but probably across the country,” he said.
While in-class learning was supposed to begin on Sept. 8, he said staff will be using Sept. 8 and 9 to get ready to teach digitally. The school division expects students to be able to return to the building as of Sept. 17.
The school division was informed of the staff member’s diagnosis by the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA).
Lerminiaux said five additional staff members who play a key role in reopening are considered close contacts and are required to self-isolate for 14 days.
The move to online is a result of that reduction to the school’s available in-person staffing complement, he added.
“We just felt with such a large number of staff who have been a part of all of the planning and all of the protocols and all ready to teach the kids what to expect — that it was going to be unrealistic and unfair to ask substitute teachers to come in and try to pull this off,” Lerminiaux said.
For the province, this kind of response wasn’t unexpected.
“I think that’s perhaps not un-inevitable, but certainly we have processes and procedures in place to ensure the safety of our students and staff, should that occur,” said Gordon Wyant, Saskatchewan’s education minister.
Lerminiaux said although many families may be inconvenienced, forced to change their own plans and/or arrange for child care, he said feedback from parents has been supportive.
“They understand and they want the best opening possible,” he said.
Indian Head Elementary School is impacted exclusively.
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To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out. In situations where you can’t keep a safe distance from others, public health officials recommend the use of a non-medical face mask or covering to prevent spreading the respiratory droplets that can carry the virus. In some provinces and municipalities across the country, masks or face coverings are now mandatory in indoor public spaces.
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