By rdnewsNOW staff

Just In Time

Province says schools should have PPE by end of day Friday

Aug 28, 2020 | 2:39 PM

With less than a week to go before most of the province’s students return to class for another school year, the Alberta government has announced an update regarding the shipment of previously promised personal protective equipment (PPE).

Municipal Affairs Minister Tracy Allard and Education Minister Adriana LaGrange issued the following statement Friday on PPE for schools:

“By the end of the day today, every school division should have received their shipments of personal protective equipment (PPE) in advance of the 2020-21 school year.”

“Alberta remains the only province in Canada to directly provide school authorities with PPE for their students, teachers and school staff,” reads the statement. “Because of this support, every single student, teacher and staff member will receive two reusable masks; every teacher and staff member will receive one face shield; every school will receive two contactless thermometers and 466,000 litres of hand sanitizer will be distributed across the education system.”

“This is another example of Alberta’s strong procurement practices throughout the COVID-19 pandemic,” the statement continues. “Since the beginning of the pandemic, Alberta’s government, through the Provincial Operations Centre and the Pandemic Response Planning Team, has procured more than 12 million masks. Additionally, Alberta Health Services has purchased more than 185 million clinical masks, and 40 million masks were distributed directly to Albertans.”

Last seen Jan. 15

Missing: Courtney Cattleman, 17, of Maskwacis

4h ago

eyes up

Air Spray training around Red Deer Regional Airport

5h ago

Prevention, Access, Recovery, and Coordination

Safe Harbour officially hands over shelter keys, establishes accessible navigation hub

23h ago

“Next week as schools begin re-opening their doors to their students, they will do so with the PPE they need to ensure the safety of their staff and students. This PPE, combined with Alberta’s robust school re-entry plan and health guidelines, will help support a successful return to school.”

Meantime, Alberta’s NDP Official Opposition is calling on Education Minister Adriana LaGrange to use new federal money to make Alberta schools safe immediately and help protect students, staff, families and communities from COVID-19.

On Wednesday, the federal government announced $2-billion in new funding for school reentry, including $262 million for Alberta.

NDP officials say the Ontario government released a detailed plan for its share of the funding the same day as the federal announcement, including additional teaching and custodial staff, PPE, physical distancing on school buses, support for mental health and students with complex needs, additional public health nurses and resources for remote learning.

“Adriana LaGrange had five months to prepare for school re-opening, and failed to provide the resources to staff up and spread out,” said Sarah Hoffman, NDP Official Opposition Critic for Education, in a release. “Now she’s been handed more than a quarter of a billion dollars and still has no plan on how to make Alberta classrooms safe.”

The NDP Official Opposition has presented the government with a detailed plan for re-opening called, Safe Schools, Successful Students. The plan is said to contain 15 specific recommendations to protect students, families, staff and communities.

“Minister LaGrange can use the money to enact parts of the plan we provided to her, or she could simply apply it to the per-pupil grant and get out of the way of school districts,” Hoffman said. “Students are back in class in a matter of days. She needs to stop sitting on her hands.”