Edmonton's public school board urges province to allow school mask mandates to curb outbreaks
CBC
Edmonton public school trustees are calling on the chief medical officer of health and the province to implement masking and other health measures when a school is on outbreak status due to respiratory illnesses.
In a special board meeting Tuesday, trustees unanimously approved a motion seeking a meeting with Alberta's new Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Mark Joffe, Premier Danielle Smith and Education Minister Adriana LaGrange.
They also plan to write Joffe asking what thresholds should trigger additional health measures.
Trisha Estabrooks, board chair, said health officials and the provincial government are showing an absence of leadership in the face of what she called an unprecedented level of respiratory illness caused by COVID-19, RSV and influenza.
"The board of trustees in this case and the division is being put in this position to make decisions that we quite frankly have no jurisdiction or no expertise," she said.
Last week, the district had 150 schools on outbreak status, which means more than 10 per cent of students are absent due to illness, a threshold set by Alberta Health Services.
Currently, 64 of the district's 213 schools have outbreaks with 13.7 per cent of students away due to illness.
The district says the current absence rates are higher than at any other point since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Joffe, who was named interim chief medical officer of health on Monday, has spoken in favour of masking in past statements.
But Smith staunchly opposes mask mandates in schools. She reaffirmed that stance on Monday.
Emily Peckham, press secretary for LaGrange, did not deviate from that message in an email to CBC News on Tuesday.
"The government of Alberta will review any letter received from Edmonton Public Schools and will act appropriately, considering any advice from the chief medical officer of health," she wrote.
"Our government will not implement any further masking mandates of children in Alberta's K-12 education system. We encourage anyone who feels comfortable wearing a mask to do so."
Patient numbers and wait times are up at the Stollery Children's Hospital in Edmonton, according to Dr. Carina Majaesic, the hospital's medical director.
This First Person column is the experience of Shannon Flaman, who lives in Red Deer, Alta. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ.
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