Minister of Education Adriana LaGrange addresses guests of a Red Deer and District Chamber of Commerce event held in the Gary W. Harris Centre gymnasium at Red Deer College on Friday. (rdnewsNOW / Sheldon Spackman)

By Sheldon Spackman

Risk Felt To Be Low

Education minister says having students in class best for children and parents

Sep 25, 2020 | 3:25 PM

Alberta’s Education Minister says students do better in classrooms and that COVID-19 numbers since in-person classes resumed show the province is doing a good job of handling the situation.

That was Adriana LaGrange’s message Friday morning as she spoke to a group of about 50 people at a Red Deer and District Chamber of Commerce event at the Gary W. Harris Centre at Red Deer College.

LaGrange said that when looking at other jurisdictions where schools were not closed due to the pandemic, the number of caseloads among students remained low.

“There was overwhelming evidence that schools can be operated safely with a low risk of causing serious outbreaks from the communities around them,” she shared. “Elementary schools reopened in mid-April in Denmark, followed by high schools in May and nation-wide infections continue to fall. The same thing happened in the Netherlands and in Finland, Belgium, and Austria. Caseloads remained stable after schools reopened.”

LaGrange noted that Science magazine reported in July that evidence shows that elementary school children are poor transmitters of the COVID-19 virus, and that Alberta’s numbers bear this out.

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“Since the pandemic began here, only 14 per cent of all reported infections have been in children under 19 years of age, and most of those infected experienced mild or minor symptoms,” she highlighted. “Beyond all this very compelling health data, there is a growing recognition of the serious, long-term social and economic impacts of keeping schools closed.”

LaGrange suggested there are additional concerns that also need to be considered, including the fact that some children struggle at home because they are trapped in difficult situations.

“Reports of online child exploitation have increased. More children and youth have been experiencing mental health problems with social isolation because schools, playgrounds and organized activities were off limits. These factors have led 1,500 paediatricians in the U.K. to sign an open letter in June warning that continued school closures risked, ‘scarring the life chances of a generation of young people’.”

According to LaGrange, the Canadian Paediatric Society reported this month that for most children, the benefits of returning to school far outweighed the risks involved.

“As each day passes, we are beginning to recognize the costs of parents being forced to stay home. While there are many heart-warming stories from parents about the joys of spending time at home with their children, there are also stories about the challenges of schooling children, and working a full-time job from home.”

Nearly four weeks into the new school year, LaGrange says about four per cent of Alberta schools have seen cases of the virus so far.

She reiterated that in the end, sending kids back to school was what the majority of Alberta parents and students wanted.

“Ultimately, it was a decision about how to best serve the public interest and do what’s best for students and parents, while always putting the health and safety of our students and our staff first. COVID-19 is here to stay for the foreseeable future and unfortunately, there is no risk-free environment in or out of school.”