Schools return to code yellow

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This article was published 16/02/2022 (1494 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Kindergarten to Grade 12 schools in Manitoba returned to code yellow (caution) under the government’s pandemic response system Tuesday.

Brandon School Division Supt. Mathew Gustafson told the Sun that the loosened health measures bring staff and students “right back to where we were in December” before the omicron variant caused COVID-19 cases to spike.

Now that the omicron wave has reportedly peaked, according to public health officials, Gustafson said BSD schools will be following in lockstep with the new health restrictions that Premier Heather Stefanson outlined last Friday.

This means staff and students are still required to wear masks indoors, although medical-grade masks are only recommended for faculty members.

“It should be a three-layered mask, and the fit is still extremely important,” Gustafson said. “We’ll continue to make masks available for students where there might not be a good fit or access to masks might be a problem.”

The return to code yellow also means masks will no longer be required during physical education classes.

Gustafson said one of the bigger changes under the province’s new health measures has to do with the fact that capacity limits will be outright eliminated for indoor sporting events.

Combined with the fact that young athletes aged 12 to 17 will no longer be required to provide proof of vaccination or recent testing to compete, Gustafson said spectator sports will be a much different experience compared to the beginning of the year.

In terms of contact tracing, the province still isn’t providing close contact notifications and letters to parents on individual cases.

Instead, BSD schools will continue to issue community notification letters if public health officials have identified increased transmission or recommended remote learning for a class, cohort or entire school.

At the same time, Gustafson told the Sun the division will continue to keep track of self-reported COVID cases and student absenteeism on the official BSD website.

The division has been archiving this data since in-person learning returned on Jan. 17, with BSD trustees noting during Monday’s regular board meeting that student absences have levelled off since last month.

On Tuesday, BSD officials reported at least 15 new COVID cases through this system.

“Our approach is to try and provide as much information as we can and as … [timely] as we can and work with our parents so that they’re comfortable,” Gustafson said.

While the province is planning to do away with vaccine and mask mandates altogether in March, Gustafson said he wasn’t sure if BSD will follow suit at this point.

But he is certain that BSD students and staff will be able to roll with the punches throughout the next couple of weeks and continue to emphasize protective measures like physical distancing and hand hygiene.

“One thing we’ve learned over the past two years is that things can change quickly,” he said. “So we’ll have to re-evaluate as we get closer to grad, what are the options available, and work with our parents and students on that.”

» kdarbyson@brandonsun.com

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