Manitoba mulls whether to close public schools

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This article was published 12/03/2020 (1653 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba’s chief public health officer could not say for certain Friday morning whether public schools will be open next week.

During the first daily provincial media briefing on the novel coronavirus, Dr. Brent Roussin told reporters he has yet to recommend any grade school or post-secondary institute closures.

He said it is something the province is considering after the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in Winnipeg; two additional cases are presumptive.

“Certainly, when we see community transmission, closing schools has been shown to be somewhat effective in the past, but it has large implications,” said Roussin, during a 45-minute news conference alongside Shared Health chief nursing officer Lanette Siragusa.

“Not all kids will be able to just stay home, so they might be coalescing in other places. It might have impacts on say, workforce and health care, if people need to stay home with their kids. So there’s a lot of things to consider and we are considering that, but with all the stakeholders at the table. That is certainly something we’re considering.”

Roussin urged Manitobans to keep washing their hands, implement social distancing measures, and either cancel or postpone events with more than 250 attendees. He has asked students to stay home if they are sick and practice social distancing at schools, including moving desks further apart.

Meanwhile, Ontario has directed all publicly-funded schools to close for the next three weeks. A number of Quebec school boards and universities have already closed their doors. As well, B.C. and Nova Scotia institutes are extending spring breaks.

“We’re looking at the choices we have and the timing of spring break is probably going to be in our favour, and so, whether we extend it or not, is still in the works. We have multiple stakeholders we need to engage with when making those type of decisions,” Roussin said.

Roussin noted some jurisdictions who have taken such steps have had confirmed cases for months. “We’ve had it for just over 24 hours.”

Community transmission would be a trigger for closing schools, among other things, he said.

School divisions city-wide have organized internal meetings Friday to discuss next steps.

In response to provincial directives, the St. James-Assiniboia School Division has cancelled all events, teaching and learning aside, March 13-31. Spokesman Cory Cameron said Friday that includes its adaptive swim program, school permits, field trips, inter-school sports games, tournaments, and the Winnipeg Jets Hockey Academy.

Red River College has announced an impromptu study week to prevent crowds on campus, effective at the end of the day Friday.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie