Community, schools left in dark about outbreak
One day after launching a new website to improve transparency about the spread of COVID-19 in schools, Alberta Health Services took nearly 24 hours to post information about an outbreak at Henry Wise Wood High School.
AHS officials say they will update the new online map listing all of Alberta’s outbreaks by 3:30 p.m. every school day, adding that the priority remains with informing staff and students at the school first.
But families continue to raise concerns about government transparency and safety in schools after Wise Wood was joined by two other Alberta schools in declaring outbreaks Thursday, including St. Wilfrid Elementary School in Calgary and Chinook High School in Lethbridge.
Overall, 24 COVID -19 cases have been identified at 21 schools across the province, more than double the 11 cases reported the day before.
The Calgary Board of Education has so far sent nine letters to parents about COVID-19 connected to their school population, while the Calgary Catholic School District has sent six letters, including the confirmation of a second case at St. Wilfrid School after the first case was confirmed Tuesday.
“The second case is family transmission, meaning the second confirmed case is the sibling of the first confirmed case,” said CCSD spokeswoman Sandra Borowski.
“St. Wilfrid will remain open and we will continue to work with Alberta Health Services (AHS) and the public health inspector to ensure all spaces in our school are thoroughly cleaned and any additional steps taken. The school will also work with AHS directly to determine who needs to isolate.”
But parents say the province needs to be more transparent and immediate in providing information to the general public because schools share public spaces such as recreation centres and libraries, some even in the same building.
Henry Wise Wood High School, which serves as many as 15 southwest communities, shares park space with Chinook Park Elementary School, recreation facilities, and has several stores and a place of worship directly across the street.
Medeana Moussa, spokeswoman with the Support Our Students advocacy group, who lives near Wise Wood, says AHS needs to post outbreaks with more immediacy to keep the outer community safe.
“We all interact with each other in this community . ...
“So when there’s an outbreak at the high school in your community, you should know that immediately so you can be informed and be more vigilant,” Moussa said. “You would think the government would want to give us the information right away to allow us to be more vigilant.”
Late Wednesday afternoon, around 5:45 p.m., students and staff at Wise Wood were sent an official letter from AHS confirming two or more cases of COVID-19, meaning an “outbreak” had been declared.
Two hours earlier Wednesday, Hinshaw said in the interest of improved transparency, AHS would post all outbreaks and transmissions that had occurred in Alberta schools. However, at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, almost 24 hours after her announcement and 18 hours after AHS declared an outbreak at Wise Wood, the government’s online map still showed no data.
When asked about it at her daily availability, Hinshaw said it can take time to “code” updates into the system and “pull information in.” Moments after the question was asked, all three outbreaks were posted on the map.
Still, students and staff in schools continue to raise concerns around congestion and safety, with several online videos being posted of crowded hallways, and students congregating outside by the hundreds, in close contact, and without masks during the lunch hour.
Hinshaw suggested schools work together to find solutions to crowding. “I recognize this is a time of a lot of anxiety for a lot of parents, teachers and students,” she said. “Unfortunately, there is room for improvement . ... let’s think about how we can find solutions to these issues.
“What are the ways other schools have found to reduce that.”
But Lydia Scratch, whose son is in a class of 44 students at Western Canada High School, says other schools won’t be able to help her son reduce his school population, adding that funding is a key part of the solution.
The CBE and CCSD both had parents register for either online or in-person classes by this week. But once the choice is made, students cannot switch to the other option this fall.
CBE is now providing parents with an overall list of schools that have been alerted about COVID -19 cases. But parents are being left in the dark about how many students are being affected by COVID-19 cases in their schools, which classes are involved and how many staff or students are being quarantined.
“There is very little information available, and what is available is inadequate,” Moussa added. “Where is the leadership? Where is the planning?”