Alberta schools not expected to move online despite number of COVID-19 outbreaks

Alberta officials said Thursday there are no plans as of right now to close schools and move learning online.

Currently, 52 schools across the province have outbreaks, meaning 10 or more cases of COVID-19 have been identified.

In addition, 751 schools are on alert, which is triggered when two or more cases are identified within 14 days.

Premier Jason Kenney said in a news conference Thursday the circumstances are much different now than they were back in May, when students were forced to take classes online as part of restrictions aimed at bending the COVID-19 curve.

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“The spring suspension of in-classroom learning was not because of in-classroom transmission, which was still relatively low, and it certainly wasn’t because of severe outcomes for younger school children, who are at a radically lower risk of such outcomes than adults,” said Kenney.

“But rather, it was because the operation of too many schools was impaired by teachers and staff having to self-isolate and being unable to work.”

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Kenney said the biggest thing that has changed has been vaccines, with about 78 per cent of eligible students vaccinated and much of the staff as well.

“I think it’s fair to assume that over 90 per cent of teachers and school staff are vaccinated, and so we have much lower levels of teachers and staff on sick leave, in self isolation or quarantine.”

This week, the province announced it’s bringing back contact tracing to schools, something the Alberta government removed at the start of the school year.

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And it’s making six million rapid antigen tests available for parents of children in outbreak and high-risk schools to help identify whether their kids are positive for COVID-19.

Kenney stressed the importance of in-class learning for children, not just for education but for their social and developmental health and wellbeing.

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He added the province is keeping a close eye on transmission within schools and the situation could change if necessary.

“With respect to considering moving to online, if that were necessary to do, if we saw significant transmission happening, of course then we would make sure that that was an option to be considered.

“But as I mentioned earlier, it’s critical to think about the whole health of our children, not just COVID, and to make sure that we are preserving their ability to learn in-person.”