Refusing to report on case numbers in childcare and education is putting our children in danger claims a news release from the Ontario Liberals.
“Children in daycare are still too young to be vaccinated and must be protected from the fifth wave,” said leader, Steven Del Duca. “Instead of doing everything he can to make daycare safe for children and early childhood educators, he is covering up the mess by refusing to report case numbers in childcare or schools.”
Children and early childhood educators in daycare don’t have access to the PPE or tests that schools are getting.
"But they face the same risks. Doug Ford needs to get PPE and tests into daycares immediately, and stop hiding the number of COVID cases,” added Del Duca.
“We already know schools aren’t safe to reopen because Doug Ford closed them yesterday, but daycares are still scheduled to open this week. His COVID cover-up is only causing parents more anxiety during this incredibly difficult time.
“I am demanding that Doug Ford immediately ends his dangerous COVID cover-up and resumes reporting of case counts in schools and daycares.”
Meanwhile, the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) is asking for increased infection prevention and control measures.
“Last week’s decision came dangerously close to risking the safety of students and ETFO members. We share the belief that in-person learning is the best and most equitable way for students to learn, but it must be safe,” says ETFO President Karen Brown.
"Nearly two years into this health crisis, we must, once again, pivot to remote learning to help stem the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant. This shift to remote learning is frustrating because we know it could have been avoided had the province funded and implemented safety measures at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and not half-measures,” says Brown.
“We recognize the hardships that come with another round of remote learning. To ensure this is the last time we need this emergency measure, we will continue to call on the Ford government to invest in adequate infection prevention measures.”
ETFO wants:
- N95s available to all education workers;
- Everyone working in, or attending a school or campus who is eligible and can be vaccinated safely, should be vaccinated;
- Access to booster shots should be prioritized for education workers;
- HEPA filters should be installed in all classrooms and public/shared spaces in schools;
- Rapid Antigen Tests must be provided to students and education workers to minimize absenteeism and learning loss;
- The province must continue to monitor and report COVID-19 cases/outbreaks in schools and ensure they are communicated to close contacts. The suspension of this practice has resulted in grave concern and hesitancy about a return to in-person learning, especially because additional infection prevention and control measures, like N95 masks, are not yet in place;
- There must be a plan to address staff absenteeism, which we can anticipate given the impact of isolation requirements on the health care sector and the spread of Omicron; and
- The Ford government must expand the paid sick leave program immediately.
"Without the addition of these layers of protection, we are not confident that safe in-person learning can be sustained," notes Brown,
