COVID hitting schools harder this fall than all of last year, but province mum on total number

There have been more cases of COVID-19 detected in schools in the first three weeks of this year than there were during all of the last school year.

Cases have been reported in 53 schools and 26 childcare facilities. Some schools have had to close for just a single day, while others have been have switched to learning from home for almost two weeks, and could continue to do so. 

The province is in the midst of a fourth wave and New Brunswick is seeing its highest daily case counts and hospitalizations rates since the pandemic was declared.

The same is true for the number of cases reported in schools.

The increase has forced the province to bring back restrictions like mandatory masking in indoor public places that were dropped in July. It has also added mandatory vaccination for certain employees.

During the last school year, there were about 100 cases across 50 schools, in every health zone, according to the province.

While the province has not shared the total number of cases in schools in recent weeks, it's clear last year's numbers have already been exceeded.

No total number or breakdown

School closures and distance learning notices have been a common occurrence since the first day of class.

CBC News asked for detailed numbers on cases in schools today, but did not receive any information.

The province has been sharing the names of schools where a case or cases were detected, but isn't generally providing the number of cases if it's more than one. But, even assuming that schools with multiple cases have only two, the math suggests the province has already surpassed last year's total. 

Zone hardest hit

A compilation of the schools listed by the province shows the schools hardest hit are in Zone 1, or the Moncton region, followed by Zone 3, the Fredericton region.

Andover Elementary School and Southern Victoria High School were mentioned most frequently in the list of schools where COVID-19 was detected — four times each. Both schools are in health zone 3, or the Fredericton region. They're followed by John Caldwell School, Perth-Andover Middle School, Polyvalente Alexandre-J.-Savoie, École Anna-Malenfant, École Mgr-Lang and Port Elgin School, which all appeared three times.

There have been 34 cases in three schools in the town of Perth-Andover, where students have been learning from home for almost two weeks.

On Sept. 24,  Anglophone West School District superintendent David McTimoney said Andover Elementary School, Perth-Andover Middle School, and Southern Victoria High School will continue at-home learning until at least Oct. 4, the longest of all schools in the province.

McTimoney said at-home learning could be extended longer if the district deems it necessary.

"Before this week ends, we'll reassess the situation and talk things through with the Department of Education. Perhaps get some advice from Public Health and reach some kind of conclusion," he said.

He said this is also the plan for John Caldwell School in Grand Falls.

"They're set to stay at home until the end of the day Friday and we will reassess before the week finishes and communicate with parents in all cases."

Stephanie Patterson, spokesperson for Anglophone East School District, said students at Port Elgin School have also been learning from home for the past week, and it will be decided over the weekend whether this will continue for next week.

What happens when a case is found in a school

The province mandates that a school closes or switches to remote learning for one day when a COVID-19 case is detected. This is to make sure all surfaces and areas are cleaned.

According to provincial spokesperson Flavio Nienow, Public Health "may require" the students to learn from home for a longer period if contact tracing and testing are not done.

He said for students in Kindergarten through Grade 8, learning from home may include home learning kits, homework or a mix of virtual and paper-based learning.

"Regardless of the teaching method, teachers will remain in daily contact with students," he said.

On Wednesday, Minister of Education Dominic Cardy told Radio-Canada the province is not considering temporarily closing all schools because COVID-19 would continue to spread outside of schools.