Families and teachers are reacting with disappointment over a change in the New Brunswick government’s COVID-19 recovery plan.
On Sunday, New Brunswick Medical Officer of Health Dr. Jennifer Russell announced the Edmundston health zone, known as Zone 4, would transition to red phase after a spike in cases there, including 24 of the 36 new cases announced in the province at the time.
As part of the announcement, Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Dominic Cardy said the safest place for children to be is in school.
“That’s why we support the recommendations of Public Health and have made the changes to our Return To School Plan that ensure students can stay in schools during the red phase,” Cardy said in his Sunday remarks.
Under previous protocol, students in the red phase were to transition to at-home learning.
The province suggested Saint John, Moncton and Fredericton regions could move to red phase within a matter of days. Several schools have reported positive tests in recent days.
Jill Holden has two children in Saint John-area schools — a son in Grade 9 and a daughter in Grade 7. She said her son is vulnerable to illness because he has asthma and had already been anxious about going to school in the current orange phase in the region.
Holden said she felt “defeated” when she heard of the change in school policy.
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“(I’m) even more scared,” Holden said. “Why did we rush out to get all these electronics? Why are we preparing it? All of us parents were just trying to get to red (phase) because you knew your kids were safe. It’s still out there, but at least you can protect them.
“Now, how are we supposed to protect them?”
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New Brunswick teachers unions say they were kept out of the loop on the changes.
The New Brunswick Teachers Federation issued a letter Monday, saying that while some discussions had taken place about adjustments to the Return to School plan, the union was not made aware of the final changes until “minutes” before Minister Cardy spoke on Sunday.
NBTF Co-President Rick Cuming, who is also the president of the New Brunswick Teachers Association, said teachers have questions about health and safety.
“Teachers were directed to prepare for a transition to at-home learning if red became necessary, and that’s been the plan for months — according to the Return To School Plan — until yesterday,” Cuming said.
“So there’s going to be a lot of time to learn these new protocols needed, and to shift gears.”
Holden said she will pull both of her children from school if the Saint John health zone moves into a red phase. She believes other families will follow suit.
“I know there’s a few mothers who are talking about getting together and hiring a teacher,” she said. “The majority are going to pull their children and we’ll have to figure out their schooling while doing that.”
Cardy defended the changes Monday, in an email to Global News.
“The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development has worked in close collaboration with Public Health, WorkSafeNB, school districts and schools to develop guidelines to schools and districts that will support the realities of each individual school, district and sector,” Cardy said.
“These plans are living documents and we will continue to work closely with our partners as they are updated to reflect best practices and the most up-to-date information available.”
Cardy said schools have strict health and safety protocols in place and provide a supervised environment.
“With the support and recommendation of Public Health, and approval from the all-party cabinet committee on COVID-19, we have made changes to our Return to School plan to ensure students can stay in schools during the red phase, following increased health and safety measures,” he said.
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