The province’s Chief Medical Officer of Health is cautioning people against using the reopening of schools next week as a guidepost for other activities.

Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says officials carefully weighed the importance of getting students back in school against the risks of the spread of Omicron among children.

She says the province remains under Alert Level 4, and activities that bring people together outside of school are not permitted.

That includes extracurricular sports and recreation programs, and birthday parties that bring together students from outside their school community or their tight 10.

School is essential, says Fitzgerald, and they are willing to accept a rise in cases once schools reopen so that children can be back in class.

Other restrictions will only be lifted when the epidemiology allows.

She says despite the fact that schools are open, Public Health is asking people to keep their contacts low.

The fewer people interacting in high-risk settings, the less chance the virus has to spread, says Fitzgerald.

The alert level will be reassessed on a weekly basis.

Vaccination rates in students in the Newfoundland and Labrador K-12 system are among the highest in the country.