UPDATE: Manitoban students going online for 1 week

Most students in Manitoba will have one week of online learning to start the winter term off.

Premier Heather Stefanson, Education Minister Cliff Cullen, and Deputy Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Jazz Atwal are announcing a phased approach to in-class learning to kick off the winter semester.

Stefanson says this is "to help ensure schools can implement enhanced measures for the safe return of in-person learning."

Students will learn remotely starting on January 10, returning to the classroom on January 17.

"We know in-person learning is best for our students but we are still learning about how the omicron variant will affect our healthcare system," Atwal says.

The doctor says they are moving quickly to respond to the rapidly-changing pandemic, as there are a lot of unknowns with the variant. 

 

Who can go to school

Students in kindergarten to Grade 6 whose guardians are critical service workers will be able to go to school in person. High school students who are high-risk students and students with special learning needs can also go to school next week.

 

Back to the classroom on January 17

The education minister says that the extra week will give schools time to plan at a "local level" for the return of students. Cullen says that what January 17 will look like for students coming back will vary, as schools will use this requested extra week to decide what needs to be done.

"I think we can learn from our past experience on this front, for sure," Cullen says. "All of those decisions will have to be made at the school level."

This could mean using music rooms and gyms as classrooms to give greater spacing.

Cullen says they were expecting increased absences at the start of the year due to isolating families. The minister says the Manitoba School Board Association, Manitoba Teachers' Society, and other associations along with Public Health were consulted in this decision. Last week, the Manitoba Teachers' Society put forward a plea to the province, asking to move classes online.

"COVID-19 has challenged us in so many ways and I thank you for your willingness to adapt and to find creative and innovated ways to keep children engaged and able to reach their full potential," Stefanson says.

 

Other measures

More than 5 million child and adult medical masks will be given to schools. All school staff must wear medical masks. Students are being recommended to wear three-layer masks that have a tight fit.

Cullen says 500,000 rapid tests are being given to schools for students in kindergarten to Grade 6.

"Certainly from my perspective, and the government's perspective, we are going to ensure that the proper protocol in terms of safety equipment is there," Cullen says.

School sports, contact tracing and isolation requirements are being reviewed.

 

School child care centres

Most child care centres at schools will remain open if they run all year long.

"School-age child-care facilities that operate based on the school calendar and do not provide service during school breaks will offer services to children of critical service workers requiring before- and after-school care," the province says in a statement.

Licensed centres and child-care homes are being asked to prioritize critical care workers. Public Health will contact locations that need to close.

Jodie Kehl, the Executive Director of Manitoba Child Care Association Inc., is asking critical workers to have a backup plan in case their child cannot go to their daycare.

"If child care facilities can't keep their school-aged children in their program, and granted it is only a week at this time but we know that might be extended past there, that is significant revenue that they will be losing," Kehl says, asking families to be kind if their child care facility has to change plans.

If a centre has decreased capacity due to staff shortages or is required to close, additional funding will be made available for the facilities, something Kehl says is critical.