Thread by @albertaNDP

We are demanding action to keep schools safe amid the surging fifth wave of COVID being spurred by the Omicron variant. 🧵

#ableg #abpoli #abed #covid19ab

On Tuesday, it was confirmed that Alberta set a single-day record of 2,775 new COVID cases and that number is likely underreported as most are being discouraged from seeking PCR tests to confirm infection.

School is due to return in most instances next week in Alberta; however, a number of other provinces have delayed the return to classes.

British Columbia, Quebec, Manitoba and Nova Scotia have all delayed the return to in-person classes to Jan. 10, while New Brunswick has pushed back to Jan. 18. In Newfoundland, school has gone online indefinitely.

No one wants to see schools remain closed, but the Government has done nothing to keep them safe despite having weeks of warnings about the surge of Omicron cases.

This is a pattern with the UCP Government. Through four previous waves of COVID they did next to nothing to support schools and we saw widespread outbreaks and repeated closures as a result.

@shoffmanAB has also called for the coming Grade 12 diploma exams to be made optional and for additional funding for school boards to acquire PPE, including N95 masks and HEPA filters as have been requested by many Alberta parents, engineers and healthcare workers.

When classes do resume, we need a real plan to keep them safe.

We see widespread evidence that COVID is airborne and the best protection afforded is through N95 masks and better airflow delivered by HEPA filters, there is no excuse for the UCP to continue withholding critical funding from schools during a fifth wave.