The president of the province’s teachers’ association fully supports the decision to close a Deer Lake school for at least two days after one student tested positive for COVID-19.
But Dean Ingram still can’t make sense of what he sees as a contradiction between safety protocols in schools versus other indoor public spaces.
He says parents are also having a difficult time understanding why their children have to wear a mask to the rink or grocery store but not at certain times in school.
However, the province’s chief medical officer of Health, Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, says one positive case in a school is not enough to dictate policy province-wide.
She says officials will follow through with the investigation in the Deer Lake case and apply policies that are supported by evidence, including the wearing of masks in schools and other safety measures.
The Deer Lake case is the first involving a student in the province’s school system testing positive for COVID-19.