Saskatchewan to delay youth aging out of care

The Saskatchewan government will delay the transition of youth out of government care during the pandemic.

The Ministry of Social Services said it was asked to do so by an advocacy group for youth in care and custody, which expressed concern young people could have difficulty finding a job or a place to live during the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The Ontario government has already made a similar move.

Saskatchewan is also to provide about $170,000 in funding to ten emergency shelters. Social Services Minister Paul

Merriman said the funding is to go to cleaning supplies and purchasing of personal protective equipment.

“If somebody walked in and was presenting with symptoms of COVID, we would ask the shelters or them to be contacting their case worker at social services so we can assist them with that process and get them set up with (an appointment),” Merriman told a news conference Tuesday.

The Ministry said it will provide money for hotel stays if shelters are full and plans to use vacant Saskatchewan Housing units for self-isolation.

Saskatchewan reported eight new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the total number in the province to 184.

British Columbia’s provincial health officer says she expects the novel coronavirus pandemic will continue to impact daily life until the summer followed by a potential second wave of the virus in the fall.

Dr. Bonnie Henry said Tuesday the search for a vaccine is a top priority because it will stop COVID-19 from spreading.

Henry announced 43 new cases of the virus in the province and five more deaths, the province’s largest one-day death toll so far. She said 24 people have now died of COVID-19 and the total number of cases is 1,013.

“Realistically, and I said this before, we are going to be in some form of having to monitor and prevent transmission of this virus until we have a vaccine or until enough of the population is immune to it that it’s no longer infecting people,” she said at a news conference.

“I do think it’s more and more less likely that we’re going to be able to get back to full normal life, which I miss a lot, before at least the summer,” said Henry. “Then we need to start preparing ourselves for the potential of a second wave in the fall.”

On Tuesday evening, B.C. Premier John Horgan asked people to stick with the advice of public health officials by staying home as much as possible and to continue keeping a physical distance from others.

“We need 100 per cent commitment from everyone to get this done,” he said during an online address. “And that is why I am asking you tonight to stay with this.”

Horgan said the province will announce a plan on Wednesday to make sure health-care workers have the equipment and supplies they need to stay safe, including reuseable medical garments.

It will involve a partnership between the government, businesses and tech companies to get those workers what they need, such as hand sanitizer that is being made by distillers in B.C., he added.

Horgan also announced the province is extending the state of emergency through to the end of the day on April 14.

Henry said the next two weeks mark a critical period for the disease in B.C. as she urged people to follow public health advice. Henry, who has ordered the closure of restaurants and bars and prohibited gatherings of 50 people or more, continued to urge people to practise physical distancing and frequent hand washing.

Manitoba schools

to stay closed

The Manitoba government is closing elementary, junior high and high schools indefinitely due to COVID-19.

The province originally planned a three-week shutdown that was to end April 13, but Education Minister Kelvin Goertzen said schools will stay closed for the remainder of the academic year unless health officials say they can be reopened.

Assignments and learning are to continue as teachers work remotely, Goertzen said

Tuesday. Students won’t see their marks drop from where they were on the last day of class in March.

“Marks for all students will be baselined. They’ll essentially be held at where they were on the last day of regular classes or exams,” he said.

“But students will be expected to continue learning during this in-school class suspension. They will have the opportunity to increase their mark through their additional learning.”

Grade 12 final exams are to be cancelled, but all students who were to graduate when classes were called off will do so, Goertzen added.

Manitoba already has an online program for high school students called Informnet, which offers all core courses and a limited number of optional credits. Remote learning for younger students will be a bit more difficult, Goertzen said.

Grant Doak, deputy education minister, said teachers are to engage with students and their parents to ensure kids continue to follow the curriculum.

“The expectation is, as much as possible, that learning will continue,” Doak said.