Manitoba parent concerned over lack of contact tracing
As students return to Manitoba classrooms Monday, one mom is raising concerns over the lack of contract tracing.
On Jan. 11, the province announced schools will no longer provide close contact notification or information on individual COVID-19 cases. Instead, schools will monitor absenteeism rates and self-reported cases.
READ MORE: Manitoba schools to no longer provide notification of COVID-19 close contacts
"It's just kind of scary because before at least, you would be informed - okay, there's a case in the school, it's not in my child's cohort. I can decide what to do,” said parent Andrea Clarke. “Now it's just wide open."
Clarke is concerned case numbers are going to skyrocket and feels the return to classrooms is happening without the right measures in place.
"I just feel like there's a lack of foresight in thinking about consequences for families on the province's part. (It) puts schools, parents, families in a really awkward position," said Clarke.
Clarke said she is not confident sending her child to school, but it is not only the safety of her son that she has to worry about.
Clarke is 40 years old and pregnant. Her husband has cystic fibrosis and they all live with her aging mother.
“We’re all high risk, and it’s just the same for other families in the same boat similar to like mine,” said Clarke.
“You’re saying you are just going to roll the dice with your family’s safety and that’s that.”
In a statement, Education Minister Cliff Cullen said, "Students learn best in the classroom, the benefits can't be understated - from mental and physical health to socialization and support for families.”
It is sentiment Clarke agrees with in principle, but wishes there was another way. She said possible alternatives could include extending remote learning until COVID-19 case numbers start to drop, COVID-19 boosters for more students and continuing with contact tracing so parents could make better-informed decisions.
Cullen said layers of protection are in place in classrooms to reduce the spread of the virus as kids return to in-person learning.
He listed rapid testing programs for asymptomatic teachers, staff and students, the distribution of millions of masks and ventilation improvements.
Clarke wonders why increased funding for continued contact tracing was not included.
“The hospitals are so full. What’s going to happen when you send all these kids back to school and now you’ve got double that amount in a week needing hospital,” said Clarke. “It just seems crazy right now to go straight back in.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.