LETTER: Students are not as protected from COVID-19 as they should be

SooToday received this letter from Rhonda Doan regarding outbreaks of COVID-19 in schools.

I am writing to raise concern over the alarming increase in numbers of COVID cases in children in classrooms in Northern Ontario and in particular to Sault Ste. Marie.

What upsets me the most is that our most vulnerable population, our children are being put at increased risk of death. They are not currently able to receive a vaccination. Parents are being told they can remain in the classroom where they have had direct contact with students with confirmed cases of COVID if they are double vaccinated.  It is well known that, even though individuals have been vaccinated, they can still contract the virus becoming very ill with it.

What is going on?

Children cannot always make decisions for themselves about whether they remain in a classroom or not. They are being put into the position of having their lives put at risk.

We have done a phenomenal job in this province of lowering the number of active cases of COVID in our community. Why all of a sudden is it okay to make our children more vulnerable? I feel as though there is the victimization of children and teachers in this province. 

It makes no sense to be sending a child into a classroom who has a sibling that they are in direct contact with active COVID into another classroom to infect other students in the school and ultimately the entire community.

Most of the children in communities ride in school buses, and are exposing other children in that environment as well.

Children go home to their families, teachers go home to their own families, nurses have to work in emergency departments. 

By reducing restrictions in schools this province is putting not only our most valuable asset, our children, at risk but also putting the entire community at increased risk of contracting COVID.

Please close schools with active cases of COVID.