WINNIPEG -- Schools are not part of the province’s immediate reopening plan, Premier Brian Pallister announced on Wednesday.
The premier said the large number of children present at a school would make physical distancing measures “all but impossible,” in addition to how late it is in the school year.
“To be quite frank, we’re into May next week here, you’ve got a few weeks to monitor the situation, and then you’re into June, the last month of the school year,” he said.
“For that reason, we’re not entertaining the idea of reopening the schools at this point in time.”
Manitoba announced on March 31 they would suspend classes indefinitely as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Students have been taking classes at home in the interim.
Earlier this month, the premier said he did not want to risk a rebound effect by reopening schools too early.
During the news conference, Pallister added plans would be coming soon regarding post-secondary institutions reopening, as well as kindergarten to Grade 12.
“I'll be announcing in the not too distant future, a transitional group that I'm pulling together to really step up the planning for how we come out of this successfully,” he said.
