'What is happening with children now has been completely predictable, and completely preventable'
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COVID-19 cases among Alberta children have hit record highs as more schools face outbreaks and absences continue to climb amid the province’s pandemic crisis.
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Alberta doctors say the only resolution is a “firebreak” — including closing schools — after provincial data showed Alberta children hit a seven-day average of 68 cases per 100,000 last week, the highest for those aged 5 to 11 years since the start of the pandemic.
The next-highest peak occurred in May 2021, when kids aged 5 to 11 years hit a seven-day average of 54 cases per 100,000.
“The provincial government is continuing to spin this narrative that schools are safe and they are not drivers of transmission. Yet we can see that in fact they are, and transmission is occurring in record numbers,” said Dr. Shazma Mithani, an emergency room physician who treats COVID patients at Edmonton’s Royal Alexandra and Stollery Children’s hospitals.
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Mithani has been warning since August that without more restrictions such as school closures, community transmission will rise, as will severe outcomes among children.
“We have to stop transmission of this virus, and now, unfortunately, that means we have to close schools,” Mithani said.
“We cannot wait for a terrible outcome, like a child’s death. That would be so devastating on so many levels. And it would be entirely the fault of the policy-makers if that were in fact to happen.
“What is happening with children now has been completely predictable, and completely preventable.”
Premier Jason Kenney appeared Tuesday along with several other provincial officials to say they will enact legislation to protect hospital access from anti-vax protesters.
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But even while admitting that hospital capacity pressures won’t abate until at least the end of October, no new restrictions were introduced.
In fact, Kenney said the province is “determined” to keep schools open for the well-being of students, parents and the outer community.
“We are prioritizing schools realizing there are very real impacts on mental health and well-being. Not having the opportunity for socialization and in-class instruction can be very difficult,” Kenney said.
Still, more than 198 schools across Alberta are on outbreak notification, meaning at least 10 per cent of their school population is absent due to respiratory illness. And that’s already a big jump from late last week, when numbers hovered around 160 schools.
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But the number of actual COVID cases in schools remains unknown after the province abandoned tracking cases, providing resources for contact tracing and ensuring students and staff exposed to positive cases stay at home to prevent further spread.
Both the Calgary Board of Education and the Calgary Catholic School District are not making public the number of positive cases in their schools since they can only be voluntarily reported by families and may not represent an accurate total.
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Dr. Tahseen Ladha, pediatrician and assistant professor in public health at the University of Alberta, agreed the province needs to conduct a “firebreak,” meaning a shutdown of all non-essential services and the closure of schools.
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“Schools, which are essential, need to close. Unfortunately, we have left this for so long that we can’t get out of it now without closing schools.
“But we also need to provide the supports to families who may have to stay home with children.”
Ladha also argued that as cases in children rise, so will severe outcomes.
“If we keep allowing this rapid surge, when you increase the number of cases in children, you will increase the number of cases in children with severe outcomes.
“And that will be a very scary thing when it happens.”
This week, the Canadian Paediatric Society also raised concerns around rising cases in children, sending a letter to the province asking for the reinstatement of testing, tracing and isolation protocols in schools.
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“Not only are we extremely worried about the direct health impacts of Alberta’s COVID-19 crisis on children and youth, we are anxious about the threat posed to their access to education, community supports and essential services,” said the letter, signed by Dr. Ruth Grimes, president of the society, and Dr. Raphael Sharon, board representative for Alberta.
The society also asks for vaccines to be mandated for all education workers in schools, including teachers, educational assistants and other support staff.
The Alberta Teachers’ Association is also supporting vaccine mandates for education workers.
But while school districts have said it’s up to the province to implement mandates, provincial officials have said it’s up to individual school districts as employers to put them in place.
Medeana Moussa, spokeswoman for the Support Our Students advocacy group, said families continue to feel abandoned as fear and uncertainty around COVID exposures in schools continue to rise.
“Students are already facing disruptions to their education because of the amount of fear, stress and anxiety around COVID, and the lack of information coming from this government.”
COVID-19 cases in children hit record high as more schools see outbreaks - Calgary Herald
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