NDP Education critic Carla Beck. (Lisa Schick/980 CJME)

By CJME/Lisa Schick

Back to school plans

NDP calling for clear back-to-school plan, province considering allowing 11-year-olds vaccinations

Aug 19, 2021 | 9:26 AM

In two weeks, thousands of kids will be streaming into schools once again, but with public health orders and the Delta variant now dominant the NDP is sounding the alarm.

“As a parent, I think that I speak for most right across this province in hoping and wanting nothing more than for children to be able to be back in school in (an) as normal as possible fashion and that their school year not be disrupted like it has been over the last year and a half,” said Carla Beck, education critic for the Sask. NDP.

But Beck said that will only happen with clarity from leaders and a plan, but she said they haven’t seen that from the provincial government.

“The government has, essentially, taken the summer off and it appears they’re sitting on their hands as case numbers continue to rise across the province and as we are on the cusp of a fourth wave with a variant that behaves very differently with children,” said Beck.

The province’s Safe Schools plan has been out for months, but Beck said it doesn’t have any of measures or details she would want in a plan and it hasn’t been updated for the current reality.

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With only two weeks before school starts, Beck said it makes her angry and frustrated that government had all this time and still doesn’t have a better, clearer plan.

She said she’s spoken to school boards which explained they have multiple medical health officers in their areas and are getting conflicting information from them.

“What I’m hearing from parents, from educators, from health professionals that to be at this point with such a lack of clarity, with such a lack of direction, is reckless,” said Beck.

Beck agrees that planning needs to be done in concert with school divisions, as the situation can differ in each area, but she said that just leaving it completely to school boards is “irresponsible on the part of this government.”

To that end, the Saskatchewan NDP is calling for a plan to be established that includes:

• a mandatory vaccination mandate for all school staff before Oct. 1;
• clear and consistent medical information;
• information on where thresholds should be for things like mandatory mask use, testing, and remote learning;
• vaccination clinics established in schools; and
• and for any child who is going to be 12 years old at some point this to be eligible to get a COVID-19 vaccine now.

“If we want those children to be in school without disruption and we want everyone in those buildings to be as safe as possible, we need to do everything we can – we have to prioritize this,” said Beck.

Premier Scott Moe did mention on Tuesday, that he would release guidance early next week on “living with COVID” that would include clarity for schools.

When asked about the forthcoming guidance, Beck said it’s very late to have that coming now. She said she hopes it has some of the measures the NDP has outlined.

Vaccinations for 11-year-olds being considered

In its response to the NDP, the Ministry of Health said it won’t mandate vaccinations, though it is encouraging everyone to get vaccinated if they’re eligible.

“High community vaccine uptake is key to protecting those who are currently too young for immunization. This includes parents; siblings and household members older than 12 and; school and child care staff,” said the ministry in a statement.

The province is considering allowing everyone born in 2009, who will be 12 years old by the end of the year, to be eligible for a COVID-19 vaccination.

Local medical health officers are working with school divisions, according to the ministry, and will figure out any steps that need to be taken, including masking.

“Some school divisions are already communicating to parents and staff on the timelines that they can anticipate division-level back-to-school plans,” read the statement.

The ministry points out that school divisions were given rapid tests in the last school year and that some vaccine clinics are already being planned for some schools.

Sask. Medical Association adds its voice

The Saskatchewan Medical Association is joining the chorus of voices calling for more measures ahead of school starting to stop the spread of COVID-19 in the classroom.

“We want students to return to schools and have a rich learning experience, but schools must be safe for that to happen. The safety of our children is our paramount concern,” said association president Dr. Eben Strydom in a news release.

The association is focusing on rising active case numbers in the province, combined with lower vaccination rates and the fact that children under 12 years of age are in school but aren’t able to get a COVID-19 shot.

The Saskatchewan College of Family Physicians agrees with the association. Both are urging school divisions to consider measures like mandating masks in all public spaces and mandatory vaccines for staff and students, as well as the parents or guardians of students.

They also want mobile vaccine clinics in schools, all sick children and adults to have to stay home and get tested, report cases to people as soon as possible and have close contacts isolate, continue to make sanitizer available and practice hand-washing, maintain social distancing, and clean and test HVAC system regularly to make sure they’re working properly.

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