Doctors, parents plead with Ford government to ensure safer schools

Medical experts and parents are pleading with the Ford government to make schools safer when in-person learning resumes in two weeks.

Dr. Michael Warner, the medical director at Michael Garron Hospital, says there are a number of steps that could be introduced that would ensure a safer experience for students and staff before they return to class on Jan. 17.

“My question is what is the government actually doing starting today?,” said Warner in video posted to Twitter on Wednesday morning.

Warner says a number of measures need to be prioritized before clases resume, including booster shots for teachers, better infrastructure for testing in schools and further promotion of vaccines for children five to 11.

“Unless we have something in place, when school resumes there is going to be a revolving door of absenteeism that’s going to disrupt children’s education as their teachers fall ill and kids get sent home.”

What is @ongov doing between now and Jan 17 to make school safer when it reopens? pic.twitter.com/Hp0XMpbEXr

— Michael Warner (@drmwarner) January 5, 2022

Last week the province said students would be back in the classroom on Wednesday, but following an emergency cabinet meeting Sunday night, the Ford government pushed that date back to at least Jan. 17.

Toronto emergency room physician Dr. Kashif Pirzada tells CityNews the province needs to use these two weeks of virtual learning time wisely by getting as many kids vaccinated as possible and ensuring classrooms are as protected as they can possibly be.

Pirzada says the province should be moving to lower the second dose intervals for kids aged five to 11, something he says has been successful south of the border.

“The Americans are sticking to the three to four week timeline and they have had a very safe rollout,” he says.

Parents have also expressed concern and are pleading with the Ford government to reinforce safe guards in schools.

“They keep saying schools should be the last to close and first to open, that’s not been the case,” says concerned parent Jennifer Kennedy. “That needs to be prioritized.”

Kennedy says she would like to see smaller class sizes and HEPA filters in every single classroom throughout the province.

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Warner is also calling for N95 masks for daycare workers, bus drivers and anyone else working in children’s education who are currently excluded from the government’s proposed mask upgrade plan.

The Ford government has said it will make the masks available to educators across the province, with thousands for masks already delivered to school boards throughout the province.

The union representing 1,700 Ontario school bus drivers says they deserve the same COVID-19 protections as education workers.

“Keeping schools safe for students, staff, and for their families when they return home, means full protections for all involved – from the time students board the bus, until the time they get home,” says Unifor National President Jerry Dias in a statement.

To clarify: N95s for daycare workers (and bus drivers) and anyone else working in children's education/child care currently excluded from the proposed government-funded mask upgrade plan.

— Michael Warner (@drmwarner) January 5, 2022

Echoing the sentiments of doctors and parents, the Elementary Teachers Federation (ETFO) is asking the government to provide rapid tests for students, prioritize booster shots for teachers and expand its allotment of HEPA filters in classrooms.

“These are some of the basic things that we need and right now I’m not 100 per cent confident that these things will be put in place,” said ETFO President Karen Brown.

Brown says she would not be surprised if online learning extended beyond the proposed Jan. 17 return date.

The head of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) shared that view, saying the government “must take advantage of the additional time they have given themselves, and act to provide the investment necessary for a safe learning environment.”

“It has been painful to watch our students suffer through repeated in-class learning disruptions, negatively impacting their mental health and academic well-being,” union President Barb Dobrowolski said in a written statement.

Students return to virtual learning on Wednesday and school buildings are currently only allowed to be open for child care operations, to provide in-person learning for students with special education needs and for staff who are unable to deliver quality instruction from home.

Premier Ford has said the two-week pause on in-person classes will provide “much-needed time” for vaccines and public health measures to blunt soaring daily case counts, which reached record highs above 18,000 on the first day of the new year.

On Monday, the province also announced it was moving back into a modified Step 2 of its COVID-19 roadmap, effective Wednesday.

The new restrictions, which will stay in place for at least three weeks, includes the closure of gyms and indoor dining and further restrictions on capacity limits at retail stores.

With files from CityNews reporter Adrian Ghobrial and the Canadian Press