Schools not ready to fill COVID-related education gaps, Cardy says

While all New Brunswick COVID-19 restrictions will be lifted mid-March, schools will continue to be affected by the virus and are far from full recovery, Education Minister Dominic Cardy says.

Online learning and class disruptions reduced how much students were able to learn over the last two years of the pandemic, but making up that lost time will have to wait, Cardy said.

"We are not finished with COVID yet," Cardy told Information Morning Fredericton. 

"COVID hasn't disappeared. The original version of COVID morphed into Delta, and morphed into Omicron. There is no reason for us to expect that we're not going to see another variant."

Cardy said the focus is still on making schools safer. He said the province continues to work on improving ventilation in schools and adding HEPA filters to schools that don't have mechanical ventilation. 

Classroom bubbles will remain in some schools, he said. Students may still have to transition to online learning if an outbreak in their area causes increased hospitalizations, and the province will still rely on supply teachers and non-teacher staff to fill-in for teachers who are out sick.

Cardy will continue to mask

March 14 will mark the end of limits on gatherings, isolation requirements and indoor and outdoor masking.

Cardy said he trusts the experts at Public Health for the decision to remove the requirement for masking, but he will continue to wear a mask himself and encourages students and staff to do so as well.

"I think anyone who feels comfortable continuing to wear a mask should do it," he said.

He also said he's going to push schools and district offices to allow staff to wear masks if they want to.

"To make sure that there are no cases where a student or staff person is told they shouldn't be wearing a mask under any circumstances, and to allow them to take those extra levels of protection that they feel are appropriate," he said.

Premier Blaine Higgs has said he will not be wearing a mask after March 14 unless he visits a nursing home, where masking is encouraged but not required. Businesses can also decide to ask people to wear a mask, and hospitals will continue to keep their mask policy in place for visitors for the the time being.

More than 10,000 COVID cases have been detected in schools since September, and more than 7,000 of those have been in February alone.

Dr. Jennifer Russell, the chief medical officer of health, has said that with more than 90 per cent of people vaccinated with at least one dose, the number of cases is no longer a good metric for the severity of the disease. Instead, people should look to hospitalizations. 

Since the number of hospitalizations is decreasing, Russell said, removing restrictions is the right move.

A high number of cases still has an impact on attendance and teacher availability.

Last week, the New Brunswick Teachers' Association said supply teachers can't fill the demand left by self-isolating staff.

Cardy said the province will continue to work on finding a solution to the supply-teacher shortage. He said the department has a list of non-teacher staff with classroom experience who are ready to fill in on short notice.

"We have had some schools that have had real issues on for a couple of days, but those gaps have generally have been quickly filled," he said.

"In a couple of cases, we had schools where I don't think they were aware that they had those resources available, so [we're] making sure those communications were open."

Department of Education spokesperson Flavio Nienow confirmed Monday teachers and students won't have to self-isolate if they get sick with COVID-19 after March 14.