Alberta parents anxious without COVID tracing in schools: advocacy group

CALGARY – After learning that there are COVID-19 cases in all Medicine Hat area schools, calls are growing for the province to reinstate contact tracing.

Contact tracing was taking place in schools place last semester but as part of some recent changes when restrictions were loosened this summer, plans to trace cases in schools were scrapped.

RELATED: All Medicine Hat Public School Division schools report COVID-19 cases

Wing li with Save Our Students (SOS) Alberta says this is causing needless anxiety.

“[This is] some basic information that should be given to let parents know so they can have a course of action,” said Li.

“But without that information, we’re just hearing from really distressed families.”

She wonders why it seems like the government is being so secretive.

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“This is not something we’ve seen before. And the lack of information is especially disconcerting, in a time where we’re seeing cases go up so badly in the entire province.”

In a statement, the province says it won’t report on school cases because outbreaks could be caused by a number of different respiratory illnesses.

However, if 10 per cent or more students in a school are out sick, then Alberta Health Services will investigate.