Thread by @ESL_fairy

The Minister of Education used to repeat over and over that “schools are safe”, and “schools are not sources of transmission”. Now this government says we should normalize COVID-19 in our schools, that we are to expect our children to get sick and to be okay with it. #OntEd

The narrative on #SafeSeptember2021 has changed in a big way, and it’s simply not acceptable to me as a parent to be throwing our children under age 12 under the school bus. Our kids deserve a fighting chance to go to school safely, without the expectation of illness.

Dr. Kieran Moore (CMOH) says people who are unvaccinated are 8x more likely to get infected with COVID19 compared with those who are vaccinated. Literally 100% of our children under 12 are unvaccinated. They are now among the most vulnerable among us for infection potential.

Just a few days ago, more than half of the new COVID-19 cases reported in Waterloo Region were in kids, with 25% in kids under age 10. Experts in the U.S. are seeing signs that this variant is affecting children much more virulently, with more resulting hospitalizations.

Are we so full of pride as a province that we are unwilling to learn from what is happening right now in pediatric ICUs just south of us? Are we really ready to just throw in the towel? I'm not ready to see littles on ventilators and babies in body bags. I'm not okay with this.

I get it... adults are sick of COVID-19 restrictions. But don't forget that our kids have given up so much for the adults in their lives-playdates, sleepovers, birthday parties, in-person school, hugs with loved ones... can't we hang on just a bit longer for them?

Rather than rushing us into "the virus is endemic... live with it", can we not hang on just a few months before loosening restrictions in schools until ALL children have the chance to be vaccinated? Why are we suddenly so quick to throw up our hands in defeat?

This government spent 10.3 billion dollars less than planned, money that could have been used to make our communities and schools safer. They also somehow failed to track $4.4 Billion dollars in COVID-19 pandemic relief spending… where did that money go?

As cases in our unvaccinated children climb, so do the risks of our kids being hospitalized, surviving with long-term complications or disabilities, and seeing our little ones on ventilators… and ultimately some babies in body bags.

We need portable air filtration units in EVERY classroom-not just those without mechanical ventilation. We need mandatory vaccinations for all school staff. We need higher quality, better-fitting PPE. We need regular rapid testing.

We need sufficient paid sick/family care days to support the families who will need to keep their children home for 10 or more days every time they are exposed to COVID in their classroom (which will be often, looking at our now 8-day doubling rate as we head into the 4th wave).

We need masks for ALL staff and students who can safely wear them, including kindergarten students. We need ACTUAL cohorting, not kids sitting 3 to a seat on a bus, eating in cafeterias, crammed into assemblies, singing, playing wind instruments, and contact sports without masks.

We need everyone who is able to get a vaccine to please get their shot now. This is about saving your life, but it’s also about protecting vulnerable children who don’t even have the choice of a vaccine. Protect my daughter. Protect all those too young to be vaccinted. Please.

Smaller class sizes would also be extremely helpful here, but I’m also a realist and I realize that this would be a financial and logistical nightmare and is thus highly unlikely to happen… so I am focusing on action items we can actually work on.

Thank you to @wrdsb for once again prioritizing the safety of ALL students and staff by going beyond the Ministry requirements for mandatory masking. Multiple layers of protection will keep everyone safer.