Parents across the province are weighing the pros and cons of sending their kids back to school in just under three weeks.
That anxiety may have been heightened over the past few weeks with a rise in Chatham-Kent’s active COVID cases.
While the numbers are starting to drop again – down to 54 as of Tuesday afternoon – CK’s Medical Officer of Health is trying to give some reassurance to families.
“Recently, Chatham-Kent has experienced higher per capita rates of COVID-19, so a simplistic assessment of risk is going to suggest that risk in CK is higher than other health units,” Dr David Colby says. “Nevertheless, this does not equate to our rate of community transmission – the higher number of cases we have been seeing are connected to known risk groups and exposures, and it is not correct to generalize overall rates of new or active cases within our borders to estimate assessments of risk for the community at large or for school attendance.”
Dr Colby says there are no risk-free scenarios when reopening schools in the midst of a pandemic.
“Sending your child to school may increase the risk of getting COVID-19, and keeping your kids at home may increase the risk of interrupting their social and developmental wellbeing. There is no wrong decision – only what is right for your child and your family.”
Meantime, the provincial government has issued a memo, giving school boards the option of going back a little later than first planned.
As it stands, classes will resume on September 8th, but the provincial government is now allowing for a staggered opening over the first two weeks of school for elementary grades.
The idea is to give local education officials a little more time to enhance health and safety measures, if necessary.