Edmonton Public Calls For COVID-19 Contract Tracking Returned As 12 Schools Report Outbreaks

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Edmonton Public Schools is urging the provincial government to restore contact tracing amid COVID-19 outbreaks at 12 of its schools.

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There are currently 573 self-reported COVID-19 cases in 165 Edmonton public schools, board chair Trisha Estabrooks said at a news conference Tuesday.

“That’s 78 percent of our schools that have COVID cases,” he said. “Seventy percent of that total number of COVID cases are in our kindergarten through sixth grade (population), among students who cannot get vaccinated. We have 57,000 elementary school students who are not eligible to receive the vaccine. “

Edmonton Public Schools has been notifying families of positive cases on its own after the provincial government suspended contact tracing in the summer, the district said in a letter to education and health ministers on Sept. 16.

Estabrooks noted that a year ago there were 68 positive cases in Edmonton public schools, information that Alberta Health Services had confirmed and shared with the district.

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“This year, number 573 are strictly self-reported cases due to the fact that information is not shared openly and transparently with school divisions. We know that (573) is not exact. We know that there are more cases of COVID-19 in our schools and this is our greatest frustration. I commend our division for being so open and transparent. We are simply asking that the government be equally transparent and share data with school divisions on where COVID is in our schools, ”Estabrooks said.

“The schools absolutely reflect what is happening in our communities. They are small microcosms of our society. That is why we are fighting so hard right now to protect our students, especially children under the age of 12, to make sure they are safe and do not pass this virus on and bring it home to our families and contribute to what it is already a crisis in our country. Health Care System. “

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The school board is trying to make decisions on recommending that schools or classes come back online, but that’s difficult without an accurate picture of COVID numbers, he added.

“We need access to data to make good decisions.”

Westglen Elementary School declared a COVID outbreak Thursday and switched to online learning. A grade 1 and grade 5 class at two separate schools, which Estabrooks did not identify, was also back online.

During a COVID-19 update on Tuesday, Prime Minister Jason Kenney said that, in percentage terms, the largest growth in COVID-19 cases that is occurring now is among school-age children who are not vaccinated, primarily in rural areas with low levels of vaccine coverage in the general population.

However, Kenney said that face-to-face instruction in the classroom has always taken precedence over connecting online.

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“Certainly, British Columbia has done this even when they faced spikes in their schools, they were very determined to keep schools open and they did it safely,” Kenney said. “That is obviously our first option.”

Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer for Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw added that prioritizing in-person learning is why additional measures were added, such as mandatory masking and cohorts in elementary schools.

“The first thing we can do to protect schools is to reduce our in-person contacts outside of our homes,” he said. “And for all those who meet the requirements to appear and be vaccinated.”

Estabrooks spoke just hours after the Alberta Teachers Association (ATA) said in a statement that the Alberta government or individual school boards should require that school personnel be vaccinated.

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In a press release, ATA President Jason Schilling said the best way to protect students is to make sure the adults around them are vaccinated.

“We cannot require vaccination of our members, so we make it clear that we believe that those who can, such as the Government of Alberta or individual school boards, should,” said Schilling.

The ATA states that they have received legal advice on the conditions required for such a mandate, ensuring that they are temporary and reviewable, that reasonable accommodations are available, and that the non-compliance is handled in a manner that does not involve disciplinary action but still protects school safety.

The association also does not anticipate supporting individuals who challenge a qualifying vaccine mandate.

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Meanwhile, the University of Alberta published its COVID-19 Vaccine Directive, indicating that you have an obligation to take all reasonable measures possible to combat the spread of COVID-19, immunization being one.

The directive states that until October 31, those who come to campus must be fully vaccinated with proof of vaccination or undergo periodic rapid tests for COVID-19.

Beginning November 1, everyone coming to campus must be fully vaccinated with proof of vaccination and rapid tests will no longer be an alternative for those without an approved exemption from the U of A vaccination requirement.

The directive will be reviewed periodically.

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