Possible thread. My first, so be kind.

OK. The @CMOH_Alberta and @AdrianaLaGrange on FB tonight. I need to get a few issues out there. Maybe they are being talked about. I don't know because I was putting kids to bed.

#abed #ableg #abpoli #abhealth #covid19

So firstly. Cohorts.

Dr. H justified that cohort classes are the work-around for the inability for kids to social distance. When asked about families also being a part of other cohorts like sports teams, dance & music grous, etc, she implied they might have to forego this year.

But ultimately the decision is up to families if they want to personally risk it.

OK but what about the other kids in their cohort? Those families don't get to be apart of that decision making so can we really say we even have cohorts at the end of the day?

So then families with grandparents, elderly relatives/friends, immunocompromised members.

Basically she says again, up to families if they want to risk potentially spreading covid to those people so maybe they don't see them for awhile.

Sorry, not seeing grandma this year.

But then the immunocompromised children issue came up. There is no plan for them. Dr H said that families will have to decide whether it's best to keep them home this year or not.

Ummm....there is a lot of privilege we're assuming here to have no plan for this.

What happens to the families that can't survive without two incomes but their child is immunocompromised? How do they make that decision? Where are the supports in this bogus re-entry plan and when is the government stepping in to help ease that burden with financial help?

Or are we really, in Alberta, just giving a big F U to these families who have to decide if they want to be on the streets or save their child?

Like how did we get here? Please tell me I am missing something!

And also, this also negatively impacts women.

Women have already had to give up disproportionately more than men during covid and now they're being knocked down again. Not just those with immunocompromised children but any family that feels unsafe sending their kids back to school, and many do.

Some men will lstep up as well but more often than not, it will be women. I have already seen countless women in my community making this sacrifice.

But then the children with compromised immune systems. They don't get a chance to be at school with peers?

The UCP would rather throw money at O&G instead of providing proper funding for whatever we would need to get these kids in a situation where it would be safe to see their peers. Plexiglass barriers, new furniture, more staff for smaller classes or breakout classes even.

To end, there was no talk about mental health. There will be loss, trauma, isolation, loneliness, amongst other ailments this year and there isn't talk about mental health.

How are we going to help students and staff maintain good mental health through whatever comes their way?

This 'plan' that Lagrange showed off by waving it around, and Dr H's answers, just don't seem to suffice. What have they been doing for the last five months? I'm sorry, but getting kids back to school when safety is not at the forefront of decision making is just reckless.

I have been sticking up for Dr Hinshaw all this time but it is coming increasingly harder to do so. Her complete disregard for real life hardships that many families will face, stung. I expect that from Lagrange but not her.

I realize that there is no perfect scenario but why do we have to throw our hands up in the air and decide we're doing nothing? Because that is the plan. The government is doing nothing while school boards and staff flounder to make it work on their own.

Bullshit.