Back-to-school plan a step in right direction: Hinshaw

Top health official works to allay parents’ concerns a week before schools reopen

Alberta’s top doctor on Thursday attempted to reassure parents that it’s safe to send their kids back to school next week, even as a COVID -19 outbreak was declared at an Edmonton daycare.

Six cases have been discovered in an outbreak at Bright Horizons daycare at 7100 Ada Blvd. NW., which closed Aug. 20, but the infant and preschool room reopened Wednesday because there were no reported positive cases, Dr. Deena Hinshaw said at a Thursday news conference.

Hinshaw said health officials would be monitoring the impact of children returning to classrooms and may make adjustments if necessary, but reiterated that province’s current re-entry plans are the right first step.

“I think there is no one perfect way to go back to school, and I am convinced that it is critical to help our children get back into school in person, and to work on balancing the risks of COVID with the risks of all of the other things that our children face, the risks of not being in school for example,” she said.

“A single outbreak in a school — or a single school that, unfortunately, may need to be closed — wouldn’t, in my mind, invalidate this first step that we’re taking. It’s simply a part of that ongoing monitoring and feedback process that we’re undertaking.”

She previously has said public health wasn’t predetermining what could trigger a school closure.

But Thursday she said two or more confirmed cases among staff or students within 14 days, or two or more confirmed cases linked to a school setting, would be considered an outbreak. Outbreaks could also be declared as a precaution, and officials will monitor transmission rates in the community.

So far there have only been six outbreaks in child care or daycare settings since the pandemic began across the province — three of which had a single case where outbreaks were declared as a precaution, Hinshaw said Thursday.

“I think that what we can conclude, at least from our experience so far, is when our public health guidance is followed when outbreaks are rapidly identified and measures are put in place, we can stop spread very quickly,” she said.

Across Alberta on Thursday, two more people have died from COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 237. Forty-nine people are in hospital including seven in intensive care. There were 108 new cases reported Thursday, including 1,158 active cases, for a total of 13,318 overall, provincial data shows.

Nationally, 9,102 people have died and there have been 126,848 cases of COVID -19. Globally, there have been more than 24 million cases including 821,462 deaths.

EDMONTON PLANS FOR SECOND WAVE

The City of Edmonton, with public health officials, have created a new five-level “escalation model” as it braces for the possibility of a second wave or widespread outbreak.

The model includes immediate, short-term, and long-term plans with progression, options and approaches identified as cases increase.

The city is currently at Level 1, which is focused on building public awareness, education, and monitoring for complaints, including the mandatory mask bylaw.

Edmonton remained on the province’s watchlist Thursday with a case rate of 51.5 per 100,000.

There are now 589 active cases in the Edmonton Zone, with 2,240 recoveries, and 526 active cases within city limits, including 106 in Northgate.

The city said in a news release Thursday it is responding to higher case numbers by increasing enforcement patrols in areas where there are higher active case numbers, offering “focused safety messaging through community groups and businesses,” and increasing communications with Alberta Health Services to three meetings a week.

CHURCH HIT WITH OUTBREAK HARASSED: HINSHAW

Hinshaw passionately de- nounced harassment of members of an Edmonton church hit with an outbreak Thursday, as the number of confirmed cases climbed to 100.

Although Bible Pentecostal Church is co-operating with public health officials, she said there have been reports of members being threatened and “treated inappro- priately,” Hinshaw said.

“It is completely unacceptable to target individuals who are part of an outbreak, and to stigmatize them,” she said. “I would repeat my call to Albertans to treat each other with compassion, we must respond to COVID not with anger and fear, but with compassion and support each other to take the appropriate measures.”

Multiple one-star reviews of the church on Google, posted after the outbreak was made public, criticize the church for the outbreak.