By Pepper Parr
October 1st, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
When we read about infection reports that are above 500 across the province and read about the severe restrictions being imposed in Quebec – it is reasonable to ask – What do I have to do to be safe?
We were invited out for Thanksgiving and wrote our friends asking if we could at least think about re-scheduling.
We have our own bubble that we are careful to maintain.
It’s just the two of us and a couple of dogs.
The vet was over yesterday – I was surprised about how casual he was – no mask either.
With people returning to their offices and rising up an elevator with five or six people that they don’t know – not something I want to have to do.
M M Robinson High School has not reported any infections.
We are getting reports from schools – there are infections. Nothing serious – not glaring hot spots – yet. Is this because we are all very careful or just lucky?
Ten schools have reported infections, all are secondary schools. None of the schools have been closed and the number reported that could be infected is at the 1 and 2 level.
Students milling around outside the high school between classes keep a safe distance without supervision.
The province has released a revised approach to screening students before they head for school every day.
Like most government documents it is too long. The list of things to watch for is good and is set out below.
Claire Proteau has a very open respectful relationship with her students. She reports that about 20% of her school population opted for virtual classes.
One of the biggest issues for Proteau is the level of education her staff is able to deliver with all the COVID precautions in place.
She works closely with the department heads and ensures that they are in very close touch with the classroom teachers.
“But it isn’t the same” she said. “It is very hard to deliver a quality education under these circumstances.” Proteau isn’t complaining, she just does her best to ensure that her students are getting the help they need to cope with what everyone has to deal with and at the same time strive to give them the education they deserve.
“I have a great bunch of students, they are a delight to work with and my teachers are giving it everything they have. If there are problems we will deal with them.”
If we exercise that abundance of caution we will get through this. When we learn of the hundreds that are found to be infected each day we know that some people don’t take the precautions. They are usually the ones that move their lips when they read.
