Schools are now into their second week of re-opening and so far things seem to be going smoothly, with only some minor hiccups.
While there have been some sporadic cases of COVID-19 reported among students and staff members throughout the province, there have been no widespread outbreaks reported at any schools in the province.
Still, there have been some concerns expressed, particularly about what is happening with students before and after class outside of school.
The News-Optimist recently received a letter from an individual expressing concern that students are not following the public health rules outside of school, with students seen congregating together and not wearing masks outside of school during noon hour and before and after classes, at fast food places and in playgrounds.
When asked about these reports Tuesday at the announcement of renovations to John Paul II Collegiate, education minister Gord Wyant did acknowledge “we’ve heard a few stories around the province.”
“We hope the school divisions are working with their parents, working with their students to make sure they are as safe as possible,” Wyant said. “We know the (return to school) plan certainly afforded that.”
Wyant added that they were “very pleased with the way schools rolled out this year. As you know we’ve had very, very few cases in the schools so far, and we are very hopeful, but we also know we have good contingency plans in place with the school divisions and Public Health, to make sure that any issues are managed in a responsible way. So far we are very pleased with the way it’s rolled out.”
He credited school administrators and trustees for “ensuring that the schools are safe for children to return — not just for children but teachers, of course.”
At Tuesday’s COVID-19 news conference in Regina, the province’s chief medical health officer, Dr. Saqib Shahab, commented on stories he has heard as well.
“We’ve heard reports, especially for high school students gathering together before and after school,” said Dr. Shahab.
He said that within schools people are limiting themselves to their cohort and using masks.
But he added that before and after school it was “important to maintain a small consistent group of friends, try to avoid any random mixing with a large number of people, and I think that’s going to be really important for the fall for all of us including young adults in high school and other adults as well. That’s where a lot of jurisdictions have seen transmission increase.”
