COVID-19 continues to be a growing presence in Alberta’s schools.
As of Tuesday night, one out of every five schools in the province is on alert or dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak. That accounts for about 453 schools with 2,653 active cases in total, roughly 19 per cent of schools in the province.
About 27 of those schools are in Calgary, many reporting 10 or more cases of the virus.
Since January, there have been 37 school closures with the latest affecting grade 10 students at Western Canada High School who recently switched the online learning.
Within the last two weeks, 505 schools across the province have either reported a case of COVID-19 or switched to monitoring status.
More than 1,300 cases have been confirmed since the school year began at the end of August according to the advocacy group Support our Students (SOS).
Wing Li with SOS believes the situation may not return to normal after the summer.
“The rhetoric from government that there will be a summer and everything will be ok is actually really far from what we’re seeing right now in schools. The fact that students won’t receive the vaccine until there is one that they’re eligible for. This may continue into September with these roll-in closures.”
Li added there are also concerns with government funding as many school boards are anticipating further cuts.
When asked earlier this week about the rising cases in schools and whether they are still safe, Premier Jason Kenney acknowledged they still are and said spread is likely occurring because of social activities outside the classrooms.
