For Kathleen Gadd, sending her kids back to school after the March break is worrisome.
She has three children, who will all continue to wear masks in school, but it’s the fact that all mandates are set to drop on March 14 that bothers her.
“I do think it’s a quite uncontroversial thing to ask for,” she said in an interview Wednesday. “I think that New Brunswick’s rate of transmission (is) quite high. They are higher than other provinces that are also deciding, ‘Oh, OK, we’re gonna drop the mask mandate.’”
Gadd said she and some other parents came up with the idea to start a petition as a way to gather all the people who had similar thoughts and concerns into one place.
More than 12,000 cases have been reported in the public school system since Sept. 7, 2021. Despite that, masking, physically distancing and proof of vaccination for extracurricular sports will no longer be required.
“A petition is a great way to get everybody who feels that way a chance to show their support and a way to put that all in one place,” she said. “It’s one thing to say, ‘Oh well, a lot of people are talking about this but when you can get everybody’s support collected in one place I think it makes a strong statement to the people making a difference.”
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More than 700 signatures have been gathered since they launched on Monday.
Gadd said she understands people would like to put COVID-19 in their rearview mirror but there are still too many unknowns to do away with all restrictions right away.
The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development did not provide an interview with Minister Dominic Cardy on Wednesday but said it is aware of the petition.
“We recognize this may be a stressful time for families as this transition takes place,” a spokesperson said in an email. “It is worth noting we have two years of experience that enables us to know our risks and how to best respond to them.”
Cardy himself responded to a concerned person on Twitter, saying: “I continue to be unwilling to go against the recommendations of Public Health. I will continue to wear a mask indoors and to support others doing the same.”
However, while masks may be leaving schools and most other areas, there are other places where they’ll still be required.
The airport is one of those places.
Kate O’Rourke, a spokesperson for the Fredericton International Airport, said when you come for a trip, masks are required.
“All of our policies remain the same,” she said. “So, that means that Transport Canada continues to require proof of vaccination in order to board an aircraft, you still have to have your mask with you, and we do still encourage social distancing as well.”
She said keeping in line with international rules also guides the COVID-19 policy.
Horizon Health Network said it will also be keeping masks mandatory and red-level restrictions past March 14.
“As we know, COVID transmission is still taking place in our communities and the pandemic is not over. With that in mind, Horizon is maintaining Red Level restrictions in our facilities, for the protection of our patients and health care workers,” said vice-president of quality and patient-centred care for HHN Margaret Melanson.
She said the health authority continually assesses the risk level for COVID-19 “and advise when it is safe to move to less restrictive alert levels.”
At Vitalite Health Network, masks are currently required. However, in an email, a spokesperson told Global News it would release its community report on Thursday.
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