UCP PROMISES COVID REPORTING WEBSITE CALLED FOR BY NDP

EDMONTON - With confirmed cases of COVID in dozens of Alberta schools, the UCP government has agreed to produce the website reporting these cases called for by Alberta’s NDP Official Opposition.

“Alberta families have a right to all the facts before they make decisions about sending their children to school,” said Sarah Hoffman, NDP Official Opposition Critic for Education. “I’m pleased that the government is acting on our proposal, and I’ll be watching closely to ensure that it provides the real-time, single-case-level reporting that Albertans demand and deserve.”

Advocacy group Support Our Students had taken up the task of providing Alberta families with province-wide data in the absence of any government action. Today, Health Minister Tyler Shandro told media the government would build its own website.

In July, the Opposition presented the government with a detailed plan for re-opening, Safe Schools, Successful Students. The plan contains 15 recommendations to protect students, families, staff and communities. The first recommendation is to cap class sizes at 15 so that two-metre physical distancing can be possible.

“This is a great moment for the UCP government to act on the 15 recommendations we have made to them, including a cap on class sizes, hiring of additional staff, and spreading out of students into additional spaces,” Hoffman said. “More than 30 Alberta schools have confirmed cases today, and the time for action to prevent transmission within schools is now, not two weeks from now.”