Advocacy group calls for contact tracing to return to Alberta schools
An Alberta education advocacy group is urging the province to reinstate a robust contact tracing systems at schools, citing rapidly rising COVID-19 cases and the highly contagious Delta variant.
Support Our Students (SOS) says the lack of data about cases at schools in the first week of classes for many, means parents are no longer notified of exposures.
“Parents and guardians need to know if their child was exposed to a highly contagious disease to make complex decisions for their families in an informed and proactive manner,” said Medeana Moussa, executive director of SOS.
"The government is disempowering families by withholding information."
The province’s guidelines no longer includes contact tracing for positive cases at schools but investigate and consider additional measures if a school has an absentee rate of 10 per cent or higher. In the event of an outbreak, families will get a letter from AHS through the school.
According to the CBE, three of it’s 35 schools that run on a modified calendar are considered outbreak status including Wood’s Homes, Niitsitapi Learning Centre and Cappy Smart School.
The Calgary Catholic School District says it will still let other parents and staff know about a positive case if they’re notified by a parent that their child has tested positive for COVID-19, but the Calgary Board of Education says it is following Alberta Health’s directive and won’t be notifying parents.
Last school year, SOS used public data to operate a COVID-19 school tracker tool, which it says was viewed more than four million times. However, because there is no longer contact tracing being done at schools, the group says it doesn’t have the information to operate the tracker and in a statement, says this is “creating a massive information black hole and throwing families into even more tumultuous uncertainty.”
Alberta Teachers Association president Jason Schilling has also recently asked the province to reinstate contact tracing at schools and mandatory masking.
On Friday the province announced a mask mandate for indoor public places across the province with the exception of schools which can make their own COVID-19 policies.
Both the CCSD and CBE have made masks a requirement for this school year.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
Documents reveal Ottawa's efforts to get Loblaw, Walmart on board with grocery code
It was evident to the federal government as early as last fall that Loblaw and Walmart might be holdouts to the grocery code of conduct, jeopardizing the project's success.
opinion The special relationship between King Charles and the Princess of Wales
Royal commentator Afua Hagan writes that when King Charles recently admitted Catherine to the Order of the Companions of Honour, it not only made history, but it reinforced the strong bond between the King and his beloved daughter-in-law.
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
Improve balance and build core strength with this exercise
When it comes to cardiovascular fitness, you may tend to focus on activities that move you forward, such as walking, running and cycling.
'I just want to be safe': Ukrainian man in Canada faces limbo amid consular freeze
A recent decision to restrict consular services for fighting-aged Ukrainian men has made a Ukrainian man in Canada feel less certain of his next steps — and worried he could be pulled back to the war.
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
$70M Lotto Max winners kept prize a secret from family for 2 months
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.