Alberta extending restrictions until Jan. 21, students to return to in-person learning Monday

EDMONTON (660 NEWS) — Alberta’s COVID-19 public health measures have been extended for another two weeks but students will be heading back to the classrooms starting Jan. 11.

In a COVID-19 update, Premier Jason Kenney said students will be able to return to their classrooms after seeing falling COVID numbers in all school-age groups since the implementation of strict health guidelines.

“The decision to resume in-class learning on Jan. 11 is based on carefully considering the importance of attending school in person, as well as the latest evidence of cases dropping in all school-related age groups in December.”

“Schools play, of course, a key role in supporting student learning as well as their emotional health, mental health, and overall wellbeing.”

Kenney says learning at home can be challenging for younger students and parents and in-person learning can inhibit development.

Between September and the winter break, only 0.4 per cent of students and school staff tested positive for COVID-19, the premier said.

BREAKING: COVID-19 restrictions have been extended to January 21st. pic.twitter.com/0X5BeDwFEA

— Jeff Slack (@Jeffslack660) January 7, 2021

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, also added that in-school transmission was not the main driver for cases in the school-aged population.

“Analysis of all of our cases in school-aged children indicated that only about six per cent of all of these cases were determined to have been acquired at school,” she said.

“Our data indicates that the current school model in place is largely effective in limiting in-school transmission.”

While the province has seen a drop in cases for all school-aged groups following the restrictions introduced in December, the premier says the public health measures will remain in place until at least Jan. 21.

“Even though we’ve seen the number of active cases drop pretty substantially since measures were introduced back in November, the reality is that we are ahead of most other Canadian provinces on a per-capita basis for total active cases, new cases and, sadly, COVID fatalities,” Kenney said.

“So we need to understand we’ve made progress, but we are far from getting out of this.”

The province introduced stricter measures in mid-December after witnessing a spike in new COVID-19 cases. The government imposed a ban on indoor and outdoor gatherings and put restrictions on restaurants, retailers and closed gyms.

Alberta will evaluate data over the coming weeks to determine what options are available moving forward.