Sixty-six new COVID-19 cases impacting 31 schools across N.B.
School districts in New Brunswick are dealing with an influx in COVID-19 cases. Over the weekend, 31 schools across the province had been affected by 66 new cases.
Some school communities, like Fredericton High School, were informed late Sunday evening that they would be moving to online learning – not enough time, says Teachers’ Association president Connie Keating.
“There is a myth out there that at the switch of a button, everyone is able to adapt to online and remote learning, and that just isn’t the case,” she said. “There needs to be kind of a line drawn in the sand. At what point can all those involved shut off their devices and actually get a good night’s sleep because currently, superintendents and administrators and teachers , they’re really feeling that they are on call 24-7."
A spokesperson for Anglophone West School District says the district has seen an increase in the number of cases, particularly on Fredericton’s north side – and that the majority of cases are in children under 12.
The district – one of the largest in the province – has had 31 schools affected by cases so far this school year. Last year, only 14 were impacted – over the entire year.
A temporary position has been created to manage the cases, called the “Director of COVID-19 Response.”
“When we are informed of a case by Public Health, the Director of Covid-19 Response works with the impacted school to identify all close contacts, whom their school officials then notify,” said spokesperson Jennifer Read. “After that, he and other district personnel deliver rapid tests to the school to ensure that families have immediate access to testing and to help mitigate the risk or spread. In some instances where schools have had multiple cases, we have provided all families with rapid test kits, regardless of whether their children were identified as close contacts.”
She says the district communicates with families as soon as they are informed of a case – and that sometimes means texts, calls and emails in the evening.
About 40 per cent of cases reported over the last three days are in people under 19.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.