New pandemic guidelines for schools not enough, Sask. Teachers' Federation says

The Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation says it's disappointed with the province's new COVID-19 guidelines, arguing there is no firm guidance for schools. 

The Saskatchewan government announced additional public health measures Friday, intended to curb a rise in COVID-19 cases in province, that include a cutoff time for alcohol service, new fitness centre regulations and mandatory mask rules for larger communities.

The province also recommended all high schools with at least 600 students move to Level 3 of the province's Safe Schools Plan, which reduces the amount of in-class learning.

However, the province did not make that shift mandatory, which Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation president Patrick Maze thinks is a mistake.

"What we should be doing is looking at what the scientific research is telling us," Maze said. "We need masks to be mandatory, and we need all schools right across the province to look at moving to Level 3 so that the density of population in each school can be reduced."

Maze said some schools are requiring students to come on alternating days, based alphabetically on their last names. Half of the students attend classes on one day, while the other half learns at home, and the groups switch the next day.

The province's new regulations, coming into effect Monday, also require people in any community of 5,000 or more to wear masks indoors. However, "masking in school settings is described in the back to school plans as set out by the respective school divisions," the province says.

Right now, in schools at Level 2 of the Safe Schools Plan, masks are only required for students in Grade 4 and up when in high traffic areas such as hallways and on buses. Masks may also be required for high school students in classrooms where it is not possible to maintain physical distancing, the province says.

Maze thinks masks should should be required for all students, right from pre-kindergarten to Grade 12.

"We thought that government was going to try to come out in front of COVID and get ahead of it," Maze said. "That's frustrating a lot of teachers who feel like their health is being put at risk still."

He said the federation also wants to see extra-curricular activities suspended, and any outside activities that run through schools cancelled — for example, the use of schools as polling stations in the recent municipal elections.

"It seems like we're not doing enough to protect the staff that have to come to work in our schools."

Maze said there are also too many staff members who are in positions that require them to go from school to school. There have been instances of substitute teachers spreading the virus to multiple schools in a week, he said.

But after the province's announcement Friday, the teachers federation does not feel heard, said Maze.

"I do think there was time to rework some of the messaging," he said.

"If schools get shut down, especially pre-kindergarten to Grade 7 and Grade 8 elementary schools, then parents are going to have to stay home with their kids and that will further reduce the economy in Saskatchewan."

Maze said since family gatherings have been reduced, it doesn't make sense that school settings with 32 or more students in a classroom are allowed to continue.

"We need to get serious about this and have further restrictions unless we're OK with it getting worse, and then we'll see the economic impact at that point."