School year seemingly returns to normal as pandemic eases
The school year appears to have returned to ‘normal’ as the pandemic eases.
Students are not required to wear masks, extracurricular activities have returned and no COVID-19 outbreaks have been reported.
This time last year, at least five schools in Windsor-Essex had reported outbreaks.
“There's no question the number of kids that are being sent home is incredibly less than it was a year ago,” said Todd Awender, Greater Essex County District School Board (GECDSB) superintendent of education and COVID-19 lead.
The statistics looking promising, but school officials say they don’t paint the full picture considering COVID-19 cases are no longer being tracked in schools.
“A different process was in place before,” said Awender. “We have seemingly less children that are going home.”
During the height of the pandemic, a single positive case had the ability to dismiss an entire classroom.
Now, it’s the parents’ decision on if their child needs to stay home from school.
Awender says absenteeism is currently comparable to pre-pandemic levels.
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