Manitoba students return to in-class learning on Monday
CBC
Students and teachers across Manitoba are returning to in-person learning on Monday, with some feeling wary as the province's Omicron-driven surge in COVID-19 cases continues to rise.
That includes Winnipeg mom Kisa MacIsaac. In a way, she's excited to send all three of her kids — ages seven, 11 and 13 — back to classes this week and go to her job as an early childhood educator.
But she's also nervous about the exposure risks her family faces, especially as skyrocketing infections linked to the highly contagious Omicron variant have led officials to say it's likely all Manitobans will soon be exposed to COVID-19.
"I feel at risk going to work, and I feel at risk sending my kids to school," MacIsaac said.
"It's definitely an inner conflict, but I'm sending all three of them."
The province's change in messaging has also led to a shift in conversation for families like Michelle D'Souza's.
"All along, we've been saying to avoid it. Now, it's like we need to have them start thinking that the goal isn't to avoid it. We're just preparing for when it comes to our family," said D'Souza, a Winnipeg mom with five kids ages eight to 16.
"So it's just reminding them that it'll be OK. And it's not as scary as it may have seemed two years ago."
The return to the classroom marks for most Manitoba students the first time they've been back at school since before the winter break.
As Omicron walloped the province at the end of December, officials first delayed the return to school by a few days, then announced almost all students would go back with a week of remote learning before actually seeing a classroom again.
But for one Manitoba family, the increase in community spread in the province was enough to call off the return to the classroom — at least temporarily.
Carrie Johnson's 10-year-old son, Brady, has Type 1 diabetes, which she said puts him at a higher risk of having severe outcomes from COVID-19.
That's why she's keeping him and his eight-year-old sister, Annika, home from classes until two weeks after they get fully vaccinated at the end of the month.
"We want him to be as safe as possible," Johnson said, adding that the kids' school south of Winnipeg in La Salle, Man., has been "amazing" in making sure their education doesn't suffer while they're at home.
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