INNISFAIL – With Chinook’s Edge School Division (CESD) officials recently saying that teachers and in-school staff may want to heed Dr. Deena Hinshaw’s recommendation that they get tested for COVID-19, the Alberta Teachers Association (ATA) is making a similar suggestion.
“The priority for teachers and the association is to ensure that schools can reopen safely,” ATA president Jason Schilling told the Albertan.
“We would encourage teachers to follow the advice of Dr. Hinshaw and to try and get tested before school begins. However, it’s a bit like a diploma exam or standardized test. It’s a snapshot at a single point of time.”
Dr. Hinshaw, the province’s chief medical officer of health, recently said she encourages teachers and school-based staff to make arrangements for voluntary COVID-19 testing.
“This is entirely voluntary,” said Hinshaw. “However, asymptomatic testing of staff in school setting will help us with a baseline understanding for school re-entry and ultimately help us even more closely monitor the virus in the coming year.”
Classes in the area's Catholic school system are set to resume today (Aug. 31) and in CESD tomorrow (Sept. 1).
The UCP government should be working on long-term plans when it comes to COVID-19 testing, said Schilling.
“We have been encouraging the government to establish a robust testing system that would ensure students and school staff can access testing and results quickly in order to limit transmission in schools,” he said.
“Having teachers get tested prior to the school year still does not address the concerns teachers have about class size and the ability to social distance when school begins.”
