With the arrival of spring and the improvement of the weather, Montrealer Doug Bentley understands people who feel a suppressed desire to return to the normal life that prevailed before the pandemic. However, as a father of two elementary school children, he believes there is still a sense of unease regarding the status of schools amid COVID-19.

Canadian regions remain at different stages of easing pandemic-related measures. However, health experts are once again warning of rising new cases of COVID-19 and increasing hospital admissions in some parts of the country as parents and school officials prepare for what the sixth wave may bring to classrooms.

According to data from the Quebec Ministry of Education, the COVID-19-related student absenteeism rate rose from 14,000 days on March 22 to nearly 24,500 days on March 29. It rose again to 27,119 COVID-related absences, according to figures released Tuesday.

Ontario, which tracks the percentage of absent staff and students as part of current COVID-19 monitoring in schools, has also seen high absenteeism rates in multiple boards, particularly in the northern region.

Earlier on Tuesday, Prince Edward Island extended the mask mandate (which includes schools) for several more weeks, while easing gathering and capacity limits.

This came a day after a group of 19 pediatricians in New Brunswick published an open letter to the province calling for the mask mandate to be reinstated in schools and for childcare workers in the preschool stage after it was lifted in mid-March. Their appeal was also supported by the president of the New Brunswick Medical Society.

The letter was based on what pediatricians see and experience in homes, workplaces, and their communities in general as more children miss school and more children come to hospitals with COVID-19 symptoms alongside staffing shortages in both healthcare and education due to illness or having to undergo isolation, according to neonatologist Dr. Alana Neuman in St. John, one of the letter’s co-authors.

Toronto Board of Education changes case reporting strategy

Canada’s largest school board announced Monday that it will now send positive COVID-19 case notification letters (from any self-reported cases) to all students in the affected school, a change from the previous policy of notifying families in affected classrooms.

The driver behind the change was the Toronto District School Board’s desire to simplify communication with families, especially for high school students who have different classes throughout the day.

Despite the fact that many pandemic measures in schools have been lifted this spring, the board is doing its best with remaining measures to keep everyone safe.

Editing: Dima Abu Khair