🧵Let's make it clear that caring about a child's physical health and wanting kids back in school is not a binary choice, and it should never be positioned that way. Kids need to be in school. We should also reduce their risk of infectious disease, now and always.

#onpoli #onted Learning about children lost to #COVID19 is devastating, and will hit home hard for many of us. While children's risk is lower, this is a powerful reminder that risk is not absolute, and kids and the people they love need our protection, too.

#onpoli #onted #SafeReturn

🧵While we still haven't had our PCR results from Dec24 following a classroom exposure before the break, yesterday our asymptomatic kid tested + on a RAT before their planned 2nd doses.

I'm testing negative on RATs, but I'm unwell and all signs point to #Omicron.
#COVID19Ontario With higher risk loved ones and front-line workers in our lives, we've always been more cautious with infectious disease - especially in the 5.5 years since losing Jude. With rising cases in mid-December we canceled all our holiday plans and started staying home. #Omicron

Keeping schools open without ensuring they're safe during a pandemic also takes a toll on kids' mental health - especially if the consequence is long-term impact on their health or the loss of a loved one.

We are not seeing enough done to ensure safe classrooms. #onpoli #onted More than 10,000 Ontarians have died from #COVID19. More people that we know personally are currently sick with COVID than we've known throughout the pandemic to this point. It's everywhere and many can't access tests. We're facing a different challenge with #Omicron. #onpoli

An average of ~3500 Canadians die from the flu in a typical year.

That number sounds so small in the wake of #COVID19, but that's a lot of people lost to a preventable illness.

But this year all our illness prevention efforts wiped out the flu. Compare to previous years. 1/5 People over 65, kids under 5, pregnant women, and people with underlying health concerns are at greatest risk from the flu's most serious complications, but risk isn't absolute and perfectly healthy younger adults die from this preventable disease, too. 2/5

#ForJudeForEveryone

I appreciate the interest and enthusiasm I'm seeing to find creative solutions for the remaining weeks of school. We advocated tirelessly for many of these options throughout the pandemic, and found they require a significant amount of planning and new resources.#onted #onpoli 1/

https://twitter.com/jillpromoli/status/1396120573441454084

I'd love for my daughter to finish her final year at her school in-person with friends and educators who have seen her through these seven years. With four weeks left my hopes are now pinned on better when our kids return in September. #onted #onpoli 2/4

I'm tired of listening to our provincial government blame everyone but themselves. Teachers, unions, the opposition, Bob Rae(?). They've been in power for three years and the entire pandemic.

What do they feel they're responsible for? Is there a list they can provide? #onpoli There are issues that are older than their govt. Absolutely.

That does not absolve them of responsibility to take action now.

We've seen them choose not to plan. Not to take proactive steps to reduce community transmission. To reopen too fast while building field hospitals.

They chose to try to control the appearance of the situation, rather than taking more care to make our classrooms safer. My kids returned to crowded classrooms next to empty ones, and the only ventilation strategy was open windows. #onpoli #onted

thestar.com/news/investiga… .@sflecce's spokesperson continues to insist educators and opposition wanted schools closed all year.

This is simply untrue. As a parent I advocated tirelessly for a safe return to school where my kids thrive. The government didn't take school safety seriously. #onpoli #onted

I was recently given well-meaning advice, to speak less about Jude, that talking about him too much could be seen as politicizing him.

"Have the courage to listen to their grief for as long as they want to talk about it."- @MaryFernando_
1/9

Read:
canadianhealthcarenetwork.ca/governments-ne… On May 6th it will be five years since I hugged my little boy.

When you lose someone, the world keeps moving, and people will get on with their lives around you. But your person is still gone, and your life is still changed.

2/9

As our #COVIDVaccine efforts ramp up in Ontario, there are hard conversations happening. LTC needed to be our top priority, and as of yesterday there were still residents receiving their first dose. Frontline healthcare workers also needed to be prioritized. 1/10

https://twitter.com/CBCQueensPark/status/1366764274065035268

Now that we can expect regular vaccine shipments, Ontarians are asking where they & their loved ones fall in line. All else being equal, age would be the greatest risk factor.

But all else is not equal, and our postal codes are a factor in risk levels.2/
thestar.com/news/gta/2021/…

My mom works in a small grocery store in my hometown on Lake Huron. When the pandemic began, I was terrified. A broken ankle took her out of work in late March until very recently. I was feeling okay about her going back when Ontario's numbers were better. But now... 1/11 Each time we talk she tells me about more customers coming in refusing to wear masks. 'Why should I bother? It's not really here, and I see people not wearing them all over the place.' Her friends and out-of-towners gathering in groups without #PhysicalDistancing or masks. 2/11

Alright. I'm seeing a lot of reaction and questions re: today's announcement from @fordnation re: the #flushot. Let's talk about it.

https://twitter.com/robertbenzie/status/1308452297412956165

1) 'Why is the #flushot a top priority in their pandemic response?'

It's early September and we're already stretched beyond our testing capacity, before flu season has started. Symptoms for flu and COVID are similar, and fewer flu cases means fewer people needing COVID tests.

This is the part that made me tear up. Please read this thread and know this is happening across the province.

What's happening in Ontario isn't working, and the plans in place will make it worse.

https://twitter.com/KiavashNajafi/status/1306909928481792000

With full-size classes, every time there's COVID-19 in a classroom that's an 10-15 *more* families & their communities instantly impacted than we'd have with classes capped at 15. That's more people at risk, more people in these lines, less ability to test & trace. #onted #onpoli

School is scheduled to start in 24 days. In Peel we need to decide by Monday whether to send our kids in to full-size classes with masks, or keep them home for hours of screen time each day for the foreseeable future. Neither choice is good. We're stuck.

#SafeSeptemberON #onted

https://twitter.com/jm_mcgrath/status/1294303788120117249

We know we're fortunate b/c we *have* the choice. I've worked from home for years. I don't believe the remote option is right for my kids and would never choose it if more had been done to make our schools safer during this time. Many don't have a choice.

thestar.com/politics/provi…

We need smaller class sizes, @fordnation. You're talking about 32 people in a kindergarten room. Have you seen what that's like?

If it's 'not about dollars and cents,' show us. Invest properly. Reduce class sizes. That's the key recommendation and you aren't doing it. #onpoli

https://twitter.com/Travisdhanraj/status/1291062400167424002

"I'm relying on @SickKidsNews, @CHEO, Public Health, the health table, that's who I'm relying on. The health and the science."

@fordnation is putting SickKids and Cheo's names on his #backtoschool plan, despite choosing not to follow key recommendation. Do they back it? #onpoli

"We'll see how it goes."

I don't understand why this is the approach our govt is taking to reopening schools. What needs to happen for them to be willing to invest properly in keeping our kids safe? Why is @fordnation willing to take chances with their lives? 1/7 #onpoli #onted I already lost a child to illness in the school where my living children still go. Now we have to choose between sending them back to an environment that is being made unsafe during a pandemic, or continuing to keep them home where they miss out on their education. 2/7

For kids in school, illness prevention will be vital. In ~one month we need everyone to be ready and able to do what's necessary.

Masks as required/able
Practice handwashing, covering coughs/sneezes
Flu shots for whole family
Sufficient #sickdays for all

#onted #onpoli

1/7

https://twitter.com/normsworld/status/1289574834494566400

We all know how quickly illness circulates at school. One sick kid in a classroom quickly becomes a class full of sick kids, who all take it home. As we live with #COVID19, it's more important than ever that we keep fevers and flu-like symptoms home. 2/7

I grew up with a single living parent earning minimum wage, and can't help but see everything through that lens. I don't know what people in this situation are supposed to do when September comes if there are no viable options for them. 1/5

#onpoli #onted

https://twitter.com/Flannsplainer/status/1288456360900919297

There are not enough childcare spaces in normal times, and won't be nearly enough if we return with a hybrid or online model. Only families with a parent able to stay home full time will be able to manage, but many of those families depend on two incomes. 2/5

#PaidSickLeaveSavesLives and it's needed urgently while we deal with #COVID19, but we need paid #sickdays permanently to protect our health and lives every year. One sick person in an office or classroom quickly passes on illness, putting us all at risk. 1/4 #forjudeforeveryone Do you know what you're legally entitled to in your region? If your employer has a more generous plan than what's mandated, you may not think about it, but when people in our community are forced to work sick, we're all affected.2/4 #PaidSickDaysSaveLives
forjudeforeveryone.com/sick-day-right…

Today @fordnation was told @HaltonDSB will no longer be planning for a hybrid model b/c there aren't enough childcare spaces for it to work if parents go back to work. His response was that currently 91% of spaces can open and they're hoping to be up to 100%. #onpoli #onted 1/2 But @fordnation, there aren't enough spaces *under normal circumstances*, and won't be when suddenly all elementary students only go to school 50% of the time, and many of their parents need to work. That's an exponential increase in spaces needed. 100% isn't enough. #onpoli 2/2

I was speaking with a teacher today about a common problem in schools every year that we need a solution for before September.

What happens when a child is sick at school? What happens when a child is sick at school during a pandemic?

1/10
#COVID19 #onted #onpoli #publichealth In normal times, many parents aren't clear on sick day policies, or are unable* to observe them. Sometimes kids are fine in the morning and develop symptoms during the day. In both circumstances, kids can't be in the classroom.

What happens next?

2/10

Four years ago we lost our son because of illness in the classroom. Living through a pandemic after losing so much to infectious disease is a special kind of hell, but we're able to minimize our risk in all but one place:

School.

1/11 During these last four years we've been advocating for better illness prevention in our schools and throughout our communities. We talk about flu shots in particular and vaccination in general, staying home sick, covering coughs and sneezes, handwashing and cleaning surfaces.2/11