Students will be heading back to class in just over a week from now—provided that the province’s COVID-19 situation is stable. The target date for returning to in-person learning is January 24.
Students, teachers and staff will be given five rapid test kits prior to the return to school, two of which must be taken in the 72 hours leading up to the first day back.
The return to the classroom will, however, depend on how the COVID situation pans out over the course of the next few days. On Wednesday, Dr. Proton Rahman noted they will be closely watching hospitalizations.
Education Minister Tom Osborne says his department will be relying on Public Health for guidance on how to proceed. Osborne says they do look at case counts, but that’s not the only factor. In fact, he says students may go back to school with higher case counts than what’s been seen in the past.
(English School District CEO Tony Stack.)
When it comes to the rapid tests that will be given to students, teachers, and staff ahead of the move to online learning, there will not be any sort of a formal check-in process in place.
English School District CEO Tony Stack says the system will be similar to the self-assessment questionnaire in that they are confident most will comply, and people will not be required to prove their test results before entering the building.
If a test comes back positive, people are asked to follow the public health guidelines already in place.
Education Minister Tom Osborne doesn’t believe there is a need to convince people to “do the right thing,” noting that they believe people will follow all the proper procedures.
Each person will get five test kits to start off, and Osborne says the department is already working on providing access to more tests to those who go beyond the initial supply.
He says other test kits will be provided through the school districts as needed.
