'Suite of options': Windsor-Essex MOH says students should return to classroom

A grade six class room is shown at Hunter's Glen Junior Public School which is part of the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto, Monday, Sept. 14, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Windsor, Ont. -

The acting medical officer of health for Windsor-Essex wants children back in the classroom and he says the provincial government should look at a suite of options to make that possible.

Dr. Shanker Nesathurai said from his perspective it’s particularly important for young children to learn in the classroom.

During the holiday break, the Ontario government announced students would be learning remotely until at least Jan.17 due to surging COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.

“I think the province does not have to make an all-or nothing decision related to the reopening of schools,” said Nesathurai. “If they are uncomfortable with opening schools in it’s entirety, then let’s open schools for a subset of young people, perhaps for vaccinated young people might be an option.”

Nesathurai says he thinks schools can be reopened on Jan. 17 with appropriate measures to limit transmission of COVID-19 in the schools.

“We think there are a suite of options that would make the reopening of schools safe,” he added.

As of Jan. 5, health unit CEO Nicole Dupuis said 33.7 per cent of children between the ages of 5 and 11 have received one dose of the Pfizer paediatric vaccine. That was below the provincial average of 44.1 per cent for the same age group.

Aaron Bergeron, a parent of two boys in grades 1 and 8, said he understands the health unit is proposing any measures it can to keep students safe, but only allowing students who are vaccinated to attend school is not a feasible or realistic approach.Aaron Bergeron, a parent of two boys in grades 1 and 8, in Windsor, Ont., on Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. (Sanjay Maru / CTV Windsor)

“While I do support that everybody should be getting vaccinated, I think excluding some kids because their parents are choosing not to get them vaccinated, or they have some sort of condition that prevents them from being vaccinated, is unfair,” Bergeron said.

Bergeron, who sits on the parent council at one of his boys’ schools and also attends university online, adds he believes schools are doing everything they can to bring students back into the classroom safely. He said the province’s latest two-week school closure should never happened in the first place.

“I think reopening schools, or even closing schools, is a moot point because, at the end of the day, we're closing schools and sending our kids home but we’re not closing malls,” he said. “We’re not closing giant retail places where people are gathering in hundreds, and yet we’re turning around and saying it’s completely unsafe to send out kids to schools to get an education.”