Parents frustrated as some schools shift online, others plow ahead amid rising COVID-19 cases

Just days into a new year, some Canadian parents may be experiencing a feeling of déjà vu, with most provinces and territories — but not Saskatchewan or Yukon — delaying students' return to in-person learning after the winter holiday. 

As positive coronavirus cases rise again, fuelled this time by the Omicron variant, parents in areas that are returning to school and those that aren't voice frustrations and concerns while their children prepare to begin a third calendar year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The fact Saskatchewan is moving ahead as planned with in-person classes on this week doesn't come as a surprise to Regina parent Rebecca Penner, who noted "there's not been a lot of restrictions for awhile now."

Nonetheless, the mother of two kids, ages five and 11, still calls the decision "disappointing," noting her concern about a new wave overwhelming the province's health care system. 

A music instructor who teaches private lessons from home, she said she's considering keeping her children — who've just had their second doses of Pfizer's pediatric COVID-19 vaccine — at home. A two-week delay could give parents more time to monitor for post-holiday season symptoms and to get their kids vaccinated, Penner said.

"We're all trying to make the best choices we can for our families with the information that we have," Penner said. "Sometimes it feels like there's just not enough information shared. 

"It's hard to know what to do because… not everybody's going to be happy." 

Kyle Anderson's children — ages nine, 11, 14 and 16-year-old twins — were headed back to class Tuesday. While they are all vaccinated, the Saskatoon father says his eldest kids have noticed how their province has made decisions differently than other provinces and territories.

"They're… not so scared or frightened [for themselves], but they are concerned because they understand that it's not just about them," he said. "It's really about our whole community that's being put at risk."

Anderson, an assistant professor at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, said he'll work from home for the next while, to be ready to support his kids if there's any sudden shift to remote learning or isolation due to COVID-19. 

However, he said he recognizes many in the community are struggling amid the new burst of cases — from those who work outside the home to those who have immunocompromised family members and kids too young to get vaccinated.

"We're all in the same storm, but we're not all in the same boat," he said. "Some people are going to have a very difficult time this wave because their kids are going to fall behind."

Though her four-year-old had been getting used to kindergarten, rising COVID-19 cases in recent weeks made Toronto mom Sumaiya Ahmed consider keeping her son Zaid home after the holiday break. So, she admits feeling somewhat relieved Monday when Ontario announced it was keeping in-person schools closed until Jan. 17 at least.

"I was a little worried what they were going to do in two days," Ahmed said of Ontario's earlier plan to delay students return-to-class just a couple of days.