WINNIPEG -- The Louis Riel School Division is introducing new protocols for students, staff and parents who use the school bus, in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
The new rules will begin on Monday, March 16 and include:
- Adults bringing kids to the bus stop have to stay there until the bus leaves;
- As kids get on the bus, drivers have to make eye contact with the children and accompanying adults to check and see if they are exhibiting any cold or flu symptoms;
- If any student is displaying cold or flu symptoms or tells the bus driver they aren’t feeling well, the driver has to tell the student and their accompanying adult that they aren’t allowed on the bus and shouldn’t go to school. But if a student has cold or flu symptoms, and there’s no adult present to take the home, they will be allowed to get on the bus;
- Any child who gets on the bus with cold or flu symptoms will be seated at the back and isolated from other kids as best as possible. The driver will immediately tell dispatch of any sick student who has gotten on the bus, the school principal will be told and they will prepare for the student’s arrival.
There are three presumptive and four lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases in Manitoba.
On Friday, the province announced that all of Manitoba’s Kindergarten to Grade 12 schools will be closed for three weeks, beginning on March 23.
