WINNIPEG -- The Manitoba Teachers’ Society (MTS) is urging the Manitoba government to move all public schools in Winnipeg to Code Red on the pandemic response system – a move that would mean shifting to remote learning.

According to MTS, moving to Code Red would serve as a “circuit breaker” to allow time for vaccines and other public health measures.

It said it would help with other issues in the education system, such as backfilling for staff who are self-isolating; the demands on principals and vice-principals for communication and contact tracing; student absenteeism; and teacher workloads.

“We know this will be disruptive for teachers, students and families, however in the interest of public health and safety, we must absorb the impact of this change,” said James Bedford, MTS president, in a news release.

“It’s true that the best place for a student to learn is in the classroom with their teacher, but this is not business as usual.”

Bedford said the Code Red should take effect on May 4, to give teachers some time to adjust and families the opportunity to make child-care arrangements.

“The government must act to prioritize the health and safety of children and teachers. And it must do so now,” he said.

VACCINES

MTS said that it has repeatedly called for teachers and school staff to be granted priority access for the COVID-19 vaccine, but that the province has “dragged its feet.” Currently, only school staff in certain priority areas can receive the vaccine.

MTS noted that even if all teachers were vaccinated today, it would be weeks until the shots were effective.

“Priority vaccination was the answer weeks ago and the government refused to act,” Bedford said.

“Vaccines alone will no longer make the difference. That is abundantly clear.”

MTS said that the province maintains that schools are safe, but that Winnipeg’s test positivity rate is on the rise, along with the number of cases in schools.

“Variants of concern are impacting younger and younger Manitobans,” Bedford said, adding every solution at their disposal needs to be used to stop the spread of the virus.

MTS said it will monitor the test positivity rates outside of Winnipeg to expand the call for a Code Red as needed.

 CTV News Winnipeg has reached out to the province for comment.