Hundreds of students in COVID-19 isolation across Saskatchewan

Michelle Ganuelas has jokingly started to refer to herself as "room service" in her Lumsden, Sask., home. 

That's because two high school students in her care — her daughter and a teen she's guardian for — are in self-isolation after being exposed to COVID-19 at Lumsden High School. And they're not alone.

More than 70 per cent of the school's 300 students and 30 per cent of its staff are currently in isolation, after at least 12 cases of COVID-19 were recorded at the school. 

For Ganuelas and her family, the situation has been hard. 

"It's heartbreaking," she said. "The stress that I'm watching these kids going through is incredible. I can't fathom what that must be like."

She said both of the students she cares for are working hard to ensure they're keeping up with their studies, but both do better in an in-school environment.

"This is definitely taking a toll," she said. 

The two students are currently isolating in different parts of the home. Ganuelas herself is isolating as a precaution and has had to step back from helping folks in the community through her independent-living business, as she wants to ensure her clients are kept safe as well.

Worried about long-term effects

Her family is tight-knit and they're trying to keep things light around the house, but she says one of her main jobs has been supporting the two students as they isolate.

"My biggest role I think right now is just being their listener," she said. "Cheering them on and telling them, 'You only need to do what you're capable of doing and then you need to cut yourself some slack.'" 

She says one of her biggest concerns is the long-term mental-health effects of the isolation, as a result of the stress the kids are under. She'd like to see more mental-health supports in place for students who are facing so much uncertainty. 

"I am concerned that this could very well evoke post-traumatic stress disorder," she said. "This is affecting people's mental health, children's mental health, and we as parents are left to help them with that, and we're not educated in it." 

She has questions as to whether or not widespread self-isolation is the best approach to curb the spread of COVID-19. While she says she knows the illness is serious, she wonders what the next steps will be.

"I'm afraid that we are destroying ourselves," she said. "What are we going to do if this is the only solution and we've done this for two years? How many people are going to be homeless, sick, [with] no homes, no money?" 

The Prairie Valley School Division, which includes Lumsden High School, transitioned the school to online learning earlier this month. The plan was to have kids return to school on Dec. 7, but Ganuelas thinks it's likely classes will remain online past that date. 

Other parents, like Carmen and Jeromey Schroeder, said while they're at peace with the situation, they feel it's unfortunate so many students are being asked to isolate. They suggest only close contacts, as defined by the health authority, should be asked to isolate, with others being asked to self-monitor. 

In a Facebook message, they said they're confident students at Lumsden High School will be back in class as planned. They don't believe the school is the hub of transmission, but rather "a window into what is going on in the community."

Their son is eager to return to in-school learning. 

"The teachers are amazing at teaching through the online platforms provided and our son is engaging. But they have all expressed the preference of in-person education," they said in the message.

"We do not want to see online learning become permanent in our society. We do understand that in the meantime, we all have to work together and make the best of it. We have had a few months to prepare and it is working much better than in the spring."

Goal is to keep schools open

Alana Johnson, communications manager with the division, says officials are meeting regularly to discuss the path forward at Lumsden High School and they're working closely with public health to ensure the proper plans are in place. While the current date to see students return to school is Dec. 7, conversations are ongoing, she said.

"We are constantly in contact with health as to what is happening in the communities and what that means for students and schools," she said.

She says staff within the Prairie Valley School Division have done an excellent job of staying positive as they work through the process and safety measures in place. 

"Our goal, fundamentally, is to keep our schools open," she said. "We know that in-person learning is incredibly valuable."

She says so far, feedback from families about the transition has been positive, adding the decision to close the school was "not taken lightly." 

"Schools are working so hard to stay open, but of course, when it needs to happen, we'll do what we need to do following the provincial health direction to keep our community safe."

Hundreds of students in isolation 

The students in Lumsden are just some of an unknown number of students who are in self-isolation at the direction of the Saskatchewan Health Authority across the province.

Any student who is in a classroom where a case of COVID-19 is detected in Saskatoon, Regina, Prince Albert and North Battleford will now have to self-isolate for 14 days. A frequently asked questions document shared on the Prairie Valley website indicates this may be the case for schools in that division as well.

While exact totals were not available in terms of how many students and staff are in isolation, as figures can change daily, the province's major urban centres have dozens of classes with self-isolation orders in place, which would include hundreds of students.

The Saskatoon Public School Division has 59 classrooms, a mix of high school and elementary, under isolation orders. The city's Catholic division has 26.

In Regina officials say there are roughly 25 classrooms where "a varying degree of numbers of students/staff currently in self-isolation." Figures from the Regina Catholic School Division were not available.

The Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools (GSCS) extended its thanks to parents and students who underwent the transition to online learning, noting it understands the process has not been an easy one. 

"Families have done a fantastic job adapting to changes, and we're really thankful for their support and co-operation," said a GSCS statement. 

"We work with families and try to ensure students have access to technology, when possible." 

Kids are just so resilient and so adaptable, and it's been really encouraging to see how well students can accept change​​- Alana Johnson, Prairie Valley School Division

The Catholic school division also noted child care is an issue for some families. It's sharing information on the federal government's Canada recovery caregiving benefit, which provides support for people who miss work because they have to care for a child under the age of 12 due to school or daycare closures, or because a child or family member has to self-isolate.

In a statement, the Saskatchewan Health Authority said officials have been working closely with the Ministry of Education and school divisions on back-to-school planning and ongoing support through the pandemic, resulting in "low transmission rates" within schools.

In Saskatchewan, schools have not become hot spots for COVID-19 transmission. As of Saturday afternoon, with 21 outbreaks, schools accounted for only 16 per cent of the province's total 128 outbreaks.

SHA working to address resource shortages

However, the SHA noted challenges in keeping up with some contact tracing efforts.

"With rapidly rising case numbers in some larger urban centres, there is a shortage of resources, causing increasing difficulty for public health to identify and provide timely notification of potential close contacts in the school setting," the health authority said.

The SHA stressed it is currently "working to address the strain on resources." 

The Prairie Valley School Division's Johnson praised kids not only in Lumsden, but across the province, who have been continuing their education through a difficult time. 

"Kids are just so resilient and so adaptable, and it's been really encouraging to see how well students can accept change," she said.

In a previous statement sent to CBC, Saskatchewan Minister of Education Dustin Duncan said school divisions across the province are working directly with the Saskatchewan Health Authority and local medical health officers to determine what restrictions are needed.

"School divisions have plans and procedures in place that allow for quick, responsive modifications to the delivery of education in their schools — if there is a need to move to a different level of the plan," Duncan said in a statement.

"As the situation with COVID-19 in Saskatchewan is fluid, the Saskatchewan Safe Schools plan provides consideration for changes, as needed."