198 Alberta schools have COVID-19 outbreaks: Support Our Students
There are at least 198 schools in the province dealing with outbreaks and absenteeism of 10 per cent or greater, according to information compiled by a non-profit parents group.
Support Our Students collects the data from households that have received notification letters from Alberta Health Services (AHS) and is not affiliated with public health.
An outbreak is declared after an AHS investigation into a school is experiencing 10 per cent or greater rate of absenteeism, a change from the previous threshold of two or more cases.
Close contacts no longer need to quarantine and AHS Public Health is no longer notifying close contacts. Household contacts of positive cases are strongly recommended to stay home for two weeks if they are not fully vaccinated.
A parent in Edmonton wrote an open letter to the province as her son became one of 69 out of 350 students at their school to test positive for the virus.
Alison Turner is calling for the province to resume notifying close contacts to slow the spread.
The Canadian Paediatric Society also sent an open letter calling for mandatory reporting and contact tracing in schools, vaccine mandates for all adults working in schools and childcare settings, and masking for everyone age two and up.
Children are particularly vulnerable as Health Canada has not yet approved vaccines for children 11 and younger.
However, Pfizer has recently submitted data for an initial trial for its vaccine for kids 11 and under to the FDA in the U.S., with plans for a formal request for emergency use in the coming weeks.
While there is no timeline for when a similar request will go to Health Canada, officials in Toronto have said plans are underway to roll out the vaccine when it does get the green light here.
Toronto Public Health announced Monday that it formed a COVID-19 vaccination planning group to get ready for an eventual rollout of COVID-19 vaccines for children in Canada.
Since the onset of the pandemic, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw has maintained that Alberta's schools are not a significant driver of spread and children are less likely to suffer severe outcomes.
On Tuesday, the ATA released a statement calling on Alberta's UCP government to introduce a mandate requiring all teachers and staffs in schools being vaccinated against COVID-19.
The Alberta NDP said it supports the ATA's announcement on mandatory vaccines to slow the spread of COVID-19 among unvaccinated children.
“It’s outrageous that the UCP is hiding information about COVID cases in schools from students, staff and families," Sarah Hoffman, NDP critic for Education, said.
"Everyone should have the right to make informed decisions about their own safety, but the UCP refuses to release the information that would allow Albertans to do that."
The province says 333 in-school COVID-19 clinics have been cancelled in Alberta including 88 in the Calgary zone.
Alberta Health Services says the majority of cancellations was a lack of consent from parents but says it has been able to accommodate schools with less than 20 consents in an effort to reduce barriers to immunization and make it as accessible as possible for the school population.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Live updates as Stormy Daniels testifies at Trump hush money trial
Adult film star Stormy Daniels is on the stand a second time Thursday as former U.S. president Donald Trump’s hush money case continues in Manhattan. Follow live updates here.
BREAKING Sheldon Keefe out as head coach of Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have fired head coach Sheldon Keefe. The team made the announcement Thursday after the Original Six franchise lost to the Boston Bruins in seven games in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Bank of Canada says financial system is stable, but risks remain
The Bank of Canada says the Canadian financial system is stable, but risks remain due to debt servicing costs among households and businesses and stretched valuations of financial assets.
Here are the ultraprocessed foods you most need to avoid, according to a 30-year study
Studies have shown that ultraprocessed foods can have a detrimental impact on health. But 30 years of research show they don’t all have the same impact.
Ontario man frustrated after $3,500 paving job leaves driveway in shambles
An Ontario man considering having his driveway paved received a quote from a company for $7,000, but then, another paver in the neighbourhood knocked on his door and offered half that rate.
Why these immigrants to Canada say they're thinking about leaving, or have already moved on
For some immigrants, their dreams of permanently settling in Canada have taken an unexpected twist.
RateMDs violates privacy of health professionals, class-action lawsuit claims
A lawsuit against RateMDs has been given the go-ahead by a B.C. Supreme Court judge who found the claim that the website violates the privacy rights of medical professionals is not 'bound to fail.'
Boeing 737 catches fire and skids off the runway at a Senegal airport, injuring 10 people
A Boeing 737-300 plane carrying 85 people skidded off a runway at the airport in Dakar, Senegal's capital, injuring 10 people, according to the transport minister, an airline safety group and footage from a passenger that showed the aircraft on fire.
Capital gains tax change 'shortsighted' and 'sows division' business groups tell Freeland
Forging ahead with increasing Canada's capital gains inclusion rate 'sows division,' and is a 'shortsighted' way to improve the deficit, business groups are warning Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.