Quebec returns to in person classes this week, but parents denounce lack of safety measures
Global News
The government promised protective measures to ensure a safe return, such as masking and 7.2 million rapid tests deployed in schools, but many parents say they are not reassured.
Thousands of elementary and high school students are set to return to in-person learning across Quebec this week, but parents say they’re concerned the province hasn’t done enough to ensure classrooms safety amid COVID-19‘s virulent fifth wave.
Premier Francois Legault announced last week he would proceed with a plan to reopen schools to in-person learning even as pandemic-related infection rates and hospitalizations continue to mount provincewide.
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The government promised a suite of protective measures to ensure a safe return — such as mandatory masking indoors and 7.2 million rapid tests to be deployed in elementary schools — but several parents say they are not reassured.
Among them is Cheryl Cooperman, a Montreal psychologist and mother of two, whose eight and 11-year-old children won’t be returning to a physical classroom on Monday.
She says the situation is too critical for the children to be back in schools without additional measures, and will at least wait until her kids are adequately vaccinated.
“I don’t know why Quebec always has to reinvent the wheel,” Cooperman said on Sunday. “We know surgical masks aren’t as protective, so it’s what? By magic? By magic, the children will be protected here in Quebec and aren’t going to get COVID?”
Cooperman co-wrote and co-signed an open letter to the provincial government on Saturday in which she denounced what she described as inconsistent public health measures.