The Ontario government on Monday launched a new web tracker that will detail school closures and absenteeism as a result of COVID-19 infections across the province following last week’s return to in-person learning.
The tracker aims to provide open communication about the spread of infection in schools is a start and families will be notified once 30 per cent of students and staff are absent from any school.
But for Grade 11 Mississauga student Kaden Johnson it’s not enough.
“I don’t think that waiting until 30 per cent is enough. I think what they should be doing is tracking each individual case within schools,” Johnson said.
“When you wait for 30 per cent, you’re waiting for too large of an outbreak to finally inform parents because that means that if it’s at 20 per cent or 15 per cent of their students, their children are still going into a high risk and unsafe setting for their education,” he said.
Currently, schools are not required to notify parents of outbreaks until 30 per cent or more of students and staff have are absent.
The new website from the Ontario government gives parents an inside look at day-to-day numbers to determine if they want to send their children to school before the 30 per cent mark.
Data published Monday show nearly 337 schools had hit that mark as of Friday and 111 schools had absence rates higher than 50 per cent, CTV News reported.
While school boards and the Ford government continue efforts to ensure that the return to in-person learning is appropriate and safe, parents like Cristina Do Carmo want more done.
“We put our kids in school. They want to know what’s going on at all times,” Do Carmo, a mother of two, told Humber News.
“I’m playing it safe. I don’t even have my kids in school at this point. They’re all doing online. When they’re telling us it’s safe to bring our kids back and it’s back to school… I don’t agree,” she said.
The Ontario website currently shows a percentage for the entire school population, both staff and students and is updated daily at 10:30 a.m.
But even that may not give all parents peace of mind since vaccine mandates are still not in place for children.
Christie Knapp, who is also a mother of two, said a mandate needs to be implemented.
“If you want the right to go to public school, you have to follow protocols, including vaccinations for those who are eligible,” she said.
“I feel that as a parent of two school aged kids and my kids are eight and five. I am at capacity with having to manage like COVID protocols,” she said.
“For the onus to be on the parent to have to check a website or receive further notifications, it feels like just another hassle to be honest,” she said.