Two more Winnipeg schools move to remote learning due to COVID-19

École South Pointe and École St. Avila are the latest Winnipeg schools moving to remote learning due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Both schools will feature at-home learning until mid-May.

This comes as the province reports at least 364 cases of COVID-19 in Manitoba schools in the past two weeks.

A spokesperson for the Pembina Trails School Division told Global News the two south Winnipeg schools said the target date to welcome students back to in-class learning is May 17.

Students with additional needs, as well as children of critical services workers, will continue to be offered in-school learning.

The Manitoba Teachers’ Society (MTS) put out a call Thursday for all schools to be moved to the red, or critical, level on the province’s Pandemic Response System.

“We know this will be disruptive for teachers, students and families, however in the interest of public health and safety, we must absorb the impact of this change,” said MTS president James Bedford in a statement.

“It’s true that the best place for a student to learn is in the classroom with their teacher, but this is not business as usual.”

Bedford said variants of concern are starting to impact younger and younger Manitobans, and that moving to critical restrictions would serve as a ‘circuit breaker,’ giving time for vaccines and other public health measures to fully have their effect on the third wave of the virus.

Data released by the province Thursday shows there are currently 2,263 active COVID-19 cases province-wide and hospitalization rates continue to rise.

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