Some N.B. parents call for a return to distance learning amid rise in COVID-19 cases
Global News
Some parents call for a return to distance learning as COVID-19 cases rise in New Brunswick.
As COVID-19 cases rise in New Brunswick schools, some parents are calling for schools to be temporarily shut down to in-person learning, particularly in areas where there is a lot of spread.
“I feel it is getting out of control,” said Jessica Hope, whose son attends Salisbury Elementary School.
She said her son’s school is not one of the 10 schools the Anglophone East School District said was in an “operational day” on Monday and closed to in-class learning due to confirmed cases of COVID-19.
But she said she feels like it is just a matter of time before her son’s school is impacted and she is questioning why the N.B. Department of Education and Early Childhood Development is not switching to at-home learning for all schools in Zone 1 to try and limit the spread.
“It would be horrible if a child did get ill and something happened. Do we want to get to that point?” said Hope.
Schools in the entire district should go back to distance learning for at least three weeks, Hope said.
A spokesperson for the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development says it knows that many families are feeling anxious about the rise in cases in schools and that the department is working with public health to develop new approaches to address the “present reality” of the pandemic in the province.
“We are currently working with Public Health to develop new approaches to address the present reality of the pandemic in our province, including a wider use of rapid testing. We will have more to share on this in the coming days,” said Flavio Nienow.