CHAT News file photo

By Teagan Rasche

Educated concerns

Mixed reactions as students head back to school with no current pandemic safety measures in place

Aug 5, 2021 | 5:08 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – As the school year gets closer, answers on the best way to keep students safe are unclear.

As a parent of two, Alison Van Dyke is very concerned. Her 16-year-old daughter was hospitalized with COVID-19 in the spring.

“For people to say that COVID is not serious in children, is not true at all,” Van Dyke said. “It was very terrifying for us as a family and it was very serious. My daughter is a fit, healthy, 16-year-old with no underlying health conditions at all and was very ill.”

The provincial government is working on an updated plan for schools that is expected to be released in mid-August.

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Medicine Hat Public School Division superintendent Mark Davidson hopes the province takes into account the concerns of the school division now there are no specific protocols in place.

“I, like many in our community, have reservations and questions on how we moved from such an intense level of support and care to a space where it would appear there’s very little attention paid to COVID as it pertains to children in our schools,” Davidson said.

Davidson says it’s also unclear what measures school divisions are supposed to take to curb the spread of the virus among staff and students.

Speaking to the media last week, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health says COVID-19 is not the biggest health threat facing children.

“We need to be looking at how we’re going to live with COVID-19 and we cannot focus on it as the single most important risk and especially for kids, it’s not directly the most important risk to their health,” Hinshaw said.

Hinshaw also stated it’s up to parents to manage potential risks to their children.

On social media, parents weighed in on the changes

Father of five Scott MacPherson says “I agree with regulations being removed and don’t believe our kids should be masked or forced vaccinations.”

Parent of five, Scott MacPherson, shares his thoughts on kids going back to school

While other parents wrote “I hope we go back with limited to zero restrictions” and “3 of my kids will be back in school and are happy to not wear masks!”

Parents express their thoughts on the upcoming school year on CHAT TV’s Facebook page

Parents express their thoughts on the upcoming school year on CHAT TV’s Facebook page

When it comes to the mid-August updated School Year Plan, Van Dyke hopes the government reinstates these three things.

“The testing at independent sites and the contact tracing and then the isolating for people who test positive,” Van Dyke said.