Public letter to Medicine Hat school boards asking for COVID regulations goes unanswered

By JAMES TUBB on September 15, 2021.

On a day when trustees for both the Medicine Hat Catholic Board of Education and Prairie Rose Public Schools met, no comment was made regarding a public letter urging both divisions to better protect kids as Medicine Hat enters its worst stretch of the pandemic.

The letter, dated Monday and addressed to superintendents of both boards, asked that each adopt a mask requirement and notify parents of close contacts with infected people within schools amidst the fourth wave. One of the reasons for the plea is to protect those aged 12 and under, who are unable to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

“As parents and educators, it is our joint responsibility to take all steps necessary to ensure a successful year of in-person learning for both students and staff in our schools,” the letter reads.

“As students in K-6 are unable to protect themselves with the vaccine, it is of utmost importance that our school leaders take extra precaution.”

Prairie Rose trustees met Tuesday afternoon, a day after the letter was made public, and made no acknowledgement of it.

The Catholic school board met later Tuesday afternoon and ended the online public stream of its meeting, not open to in-person public due to COVID-19 safety concerns, before the agenda had been completed. After being contacted by the News, the board said it had seen the letter but declined to comment on it.

Alongside the letter pleading for the two school boards to follow the Medicine Hat Public School Division and Medicine Hat College by implementing a mask protocol, are the names of 88 people who undersigned the document. Twenty-three work in the medical field, 17 are doctors and six are nurses.

“Our health-care system is overwhelmed and at risk of crashing as our hospital continues to fill with patients in need of medical attention and our ICU reaches capacity” it read. “We believe it is crucial that action is taken now to support those who care for our most vulnerable.”

Last week, Eagle Butte High School, part of Prairie Rose Public Schools, was facing an outbreak of 22 active cases as of Sept. 9. The day prior, Sept 8., Medicine Hat Public Schools superintendent Mark Davidson released a division-wide statement saying they had been made aware of positive cases in all MHPSD schools.

According to the letter, MHPSD has implemented a mask protocol.

There were 583 active cases of COVID-19 in Medicine Hat as of Tuesday. With another death on Tuesday, the city’s pandemic total sits at 45.