The province reported 10 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, which is the first double digit report since the middle of August.

There were six cases reported in the Saskatoon zone, two in the Central West and single cases in the North Central and South Central zones.

All of Saskatoon’s current active cases and several of the active cases in the rest of the province are directly related to out of province travel.

Of the 1,634 reported COVID-19 cases in Saskatchewan, 36 are considered active after three more recoveries was reported.

The recovered number now sits at 1,574.

The number of deaths from COVID-19 remains at 24.

According to the new and active case breakdown, Prince Albert—the North Central 2 zone—currently has two active cases.

North Central 1, which includes communities such as Christopher Lake, Candle Lake and Meath Park, have no active cases. North Central 3, consisting of communities south of the city, also has no active cases.

The Saskatoon Zone currently has 11 active cases which is the most in the province. The second most active cases are seven in the North West zone, which includes North Battleford.

There are two people in hospital with illnesses related to COVID-19.

One person is receiving inpatient care and one person is listed in intensive care in Saskatoon.

The total number of cases is 1,634. Of those 419 cases from the south area (216 south west, 192 south central and 11 south east), 353 cases from the far north area (347 far north west and six far north east) , 267 cases from the Saskatoon area, 266 cases from the north area (130 north west, 70 north central and 66 north east), 195 cases from the central area (163 central west and 34 central east) and 132 cases are from the Regina area.

There have been 66 cases who are health care workers; however, the source of the infections is not related to their work environments in all instances.

Of the 1,634 cases in the province: 241 cases are related to travel, 831 are community contacts, which includes mass gatherings,486 have no known exposures and 76 are under investigation by local public health.

The age breakdown shows 275 cases involve people 19 years of age and under,525 cases are in the 20-39 age range,499 are in the 40-59 age range, 277 are in the 60-79 age range and 58 are in the 80-plus range.

The gender breakdown shows 51 per cent of the cases being females and 49 per cent being males.

As of September 3, 143,451 COVID-19 tests have been performed in the province an increase of 1,325 over yesterday.

As of September 1 when other provincial and national numbers were available from the Public Health Agency of Canada, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 102,609 people tested per million population. The national rate was 148,714 people tested per million population.

The Saskatchewan Rivers School Division has updated their Return to School Plan and updated the board on the changes at their regular board meeting on Monday, August 31. Changes have been made to front facing learning and expanding the teachers available for the online learning option.

During a report to the board, director of education Robert Bratvold said front-facing instruction was adjusted on August 28 with exceptions from Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab.

Front-facing instruction means all students face forward in their desks or work stations, something not always possible in all settings.

“One of the big things for us is the exemption around front facing instruction and that is big in terms of our early years, in terms of our phys-ed,” Bratvold said.

Exceptions including physical education, science labs, early years play based environments, group instruction such as guided reading and student supports done in a group format.

Written exemptions in other circumstances will be made by the teacher through the teacher, a superintendent who will forward the request to Public Health.

“It is an improved learning situation because there is so much research that learning through play in the early years, and it is not as though it is just a random playing so that is important too. But it is a structured learning environment through socializing and that is important for early years. But also that exemption to it for instruction is also important in things like practical fine arts shops, science labs, phys ed, gymnasiums. That was very well received and I’m thankful that the Chief Medical Officer of Health has seen the value of that but also provided some direction around that so that was a good piece for us,” Bratvold explained.

According to Bratvold they knew return to school plans would evolve according to direction from community context, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education directions ahead of school opening next Tuesday.

“We need to constantly be ready to adapt our plan,” Bratvold said.

Changes to the plan are now highlighted in green and the updated version is now posted at the Saskatchewan Rivers website. Trustees reviewed, discussed and approved the enhanced Return to School Plan.

Board chair Barry Hollick commended administration for their work on putting together the plan and having new superintendent Jennifer Hingley as part of that process.

“It is interesting having outside eyes because she started with us in August so that has added an element to our meetings as well. But I want to commend them for the work that they have done. Our board as well because we get community feedback, all of our trustees meet various members of the public so having that opportunity to share that with admin as well there is board input into the plan,” Hollick said.

More staff hired for remote learning

All students are now expected to participate in classroom learning, but remote learning is available to students with medical needs that prevent them from attending through the newly established SRPSD Distance Learning Centre . Online learning is available to students who choose to learn from home and whose family are prepared to commit to the new learning platform.

Nearly 500 students are interested in remote learning and the division has hired staff and done some planning around structure and supports for the model. They anticipate it as not just a temporary challenge, but a potential long-term idea. Several families have asked to begin the year remotely to see how things develop and later return to schools if possible.

The board approved the expenditure of additional funds for an additional eight teachers beyond the budgeted staff as an allocation to support the development in the implementation of the division’s online learning program.

“ We had lots of discussions around how that looked and it is a need that is current and pressing. We have seen it coming and this just sort of accelerated that need for us. We already hired four staff and we will add more staff. A bit of a positive coincidence was we had fewer retirees last year and so we have got a fairly strong pool of capable teachers who might have been on temporary contracts last year,” Bratvold said.

Bratvold explained that there are also some staff members with medical needs who cannot return to the classroom and they have matching skill sets and can be assigned to remote instruction.

They don’t have to be in a classroom with 20 or 25 kids, they will have 20 or 30 kids in a remote classroom and not have to be present. We still hire someone to replace them to backfill them but there is some capacity to reassign staff,” he explained.

In a report from Superintendent Neil Finch, it was noted that there will be more stress on the substitute teachers list due to COVID-19 but administration is trying to be ready. As far as advertising for substitute teachers, Finch anticipates seeing how the start of the year is going before possibly changing and looking into creative ways to recruit.

Multi-purpose rooms have been eliminated in the division but gymnasiums, libraries and computer labs will still have some multi-use function but will cycle fewer students through.

Mask guidelines updated for split classes

Staff must now wear a mask or face shield during interactions in the isolation room and students will be provided with a mask if not wearing one at the time and be required to wear a mask in the isolation room.

Mask guidelines in classrooms have also changed. In multi-graded classrooms that include students Grade 4 and above (such as a Grade 3/4 class) the entire class will be required to wear a mask. Masks are required for Physical Education that takes place indoors in situations that cannot have proper physical distancing. Outdoor activities in physical education will not require a mask. In both types of activities there will be limited physical contact.

Emergency lunch programs are now to be managed by staff and food is to be independently packaged and delivered to designated eating areas such as classrooms.

Vending machines may remain in operation following guidelines on limited students contacts at the site of the machine.

All students are required to participate in learning as set out by the teacher.

Partnerships already established in the division’s schools are to follow the Return to School plan and local schools are to coordinate their services with directions from the Principal. Access to facilities through partnerships is subject to change at any time and may be removed with guidance from the Health Authority.

As well, Pre-Kindergarten programs will continue to have staggered entry until the end of September. Principals can reduce the initial intake of students. Parents must ensure that the most vulnerable students are part of the first intake and the target is 20 students per class.

Hollick explained that each Thursday there is a meeting of all directors of education and board chairs. In one meeting the province told the directors and chairs that students would return with no masks. The Saskatchewan Rivers Division decided instead to err on the side of safety and institute masks for Grade 4 to 12.

“We feel fairly confident that we have really looked at all of the possibilities that are there for safety precautions and we certainly are taking them and implementing them,” he said.

Hollick also wanted to note how the stakeholders in the division have handled the entire situation.

“I want to commend the parents and the kids for going through what was probably the most unexpected few months of anyone’s life in education. We are really pleased with the feedback we have had from parents so far. We know people are apprehensive about getting back to school but we have been as careful as possible in making our plan. And with input from Health we are confident that we are going to have a safe start, so that is what we are anticipating anyway,” he said.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been having an adverse effect on Canadian children. The Raising Canada 2020 report reveals that many of the top threats to childhood, including mental illness, food insecurity, child abuse, physical inactivity and poverty may be increasing – or are in danger of increasing – because of the pandemic.

The report highlights new data related to these threats and points to emerging concerns.

“Since the outset of the pandemic, we have been worried that children were being disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. Early indicators from this report suggest that children’s health is in jeopardy,” Sara Austin, founder and CEO of Children First Canada, said in a release.

“How the government chooses to respond will change the trajectory of children’s lives.”

Raising Canada 2020 is the third in an annual series of reports that track the top threats to childhood.

For more than a decade, the state of childhood in Canada has been on the decline. In recent months, the harsh realities facing young Canadians have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The statistics in this year’s report are alarming: One-third of children in Canada do not enjoy a safe and healthy childhood; one in three Canadians has experienced abuse before the age of 15; one in five children live in poverty, and suicide is now the leading cause of death for children aged 10 to 14.

The odds are particularly stark for Black, Indigenous (First Nations, Métis and Inuit), and other racialized children. These children are more likely to be exposed to adverse childhood experiences such as poverty and abuse, being overrepresented in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems and being suspended or expelled from school because of systemic racism and discrimination.

The 2020 report also included input from Statistics Canada.

“Meeting information needs in areas such as children’s health is key to addressing the challenges our children are facing today. Statistics Canada has a long history of producing data in this area and we look forward to partnerships such as this one to support policies and programs that contribute to the well-being of children in Canada,” says Lynn Barr-Telford, assistant chief statistician, social, health and labour statistics field.

The report is jointly published by Children First Canada and the University of Calgary’s O’Brien Institute for Public Health (OIPH) and the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute (ACHRI).

“This report is a stark reminder of the significant threats to child health and wellness in Canada likely exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Brent Hagel, Professor of the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary and a member of OIPH and ACHRI, said.

“It is also a call to action for us to address these issues and protect children’s rights.”

The report shows that 57% of participants aged 15 to 17 report that their mental health is “somewhat worse” or “much worse” than it was prior to physical distancing measures. (Crowdsourced data)

As well the World Health Organization (WHO) calls violence against children the hidden crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic. In Canada, Kids Help Phone has reported an increase in specific conversations about physical, sexual and emotional abuse. As kids go back to school, reports of suspected child abuse may increase, once children are seen by trusted adults in their schools.

The reports shows that based on data from Statistics Canada 29 percent of Canadians report that the COVID-19 situation is having a moderate or major impact on their ability to meet financial obligations or essential needs.

A report from ParticipACTION shows that only 4.8% of children (ages 5 to 11) and 0.8% of youth (ages 12 to 17) are meeting 24-hour movement guidelines.

With food insecurity the report shows based on Statistics Canada data that 15% of Canadians indicated living in a household where they experienced food insecurity in the past 30 days.

Immunization shows a stark drop in vaccination rates in Canada where Paediatric infectious disease specialists say that vaccination rates among children have dropped as much as 20% in parts of Canada – ramping up anxieties that the country could face a series of infectious outbreaks while still battling COVID-19.

The report highlights the limited availability of race-based data, but indicates that Black, Indigenous (First Nations, Métisand Inuit), and other racialized children in Canada experience adverse health outcomes. As well In a recent survey of Canadian adults of Chinese origin, more than half of the adults surveyed are worried that Asian children will be bullied when they return to school according to Angus Reid polling service.

As challenging a time as this pandemic is for children, the report also highlights that along with children’s vulnerability, they also have incredible strength, resilience and wisdom. “Children must be engaged in Canada’s recovery efforts,” says Austin. “Truly child-centred policies can only happen when we act with children, rather than acting for them.”

As an accompaniment to the Raising Canada 2020 Report, Children First Canada’s Council of Champions released a call to action, urging the government to appoint a federal Commissioner for Children and Youth, a Children’s Budget and a national strategy to tackle the top 10 threats.

Aside from the threats impacted by COVID-19, climate change has been added to the list of threats analyzed in the 2020 report.

“In our consultations with youth over the past year, we heard repeatedly that they view climate change as one of the greatest threats to their current health as well as their future and is one of their top priorities for action,” Austin explained.

Children First Canada acknowledges the financial support from TD Bank Group, through the TD Ready Commitment, to help make this report possible.

As challenging a time as this pandemic is for children, the report also highlights that along with children’s vulnerability, they also have incredible strength, resilience and wisdom. “Children must be engaged in Canada’s recovery efforts,” Austin said.

“Truly child-centred policies can only happen when we act with children, rather than acting for them.”

The Canadian Association of Retired People (CARP) is reminding Canadians that with a focus on students there are implications on the rest of the family “bubble” including grandparents in a release Monday.

They explained that grandparents will be facing tough decisions on how to remain safely connected to their grandchildren as a potential second wave of COVID-19 hits this fall.

“Many of our Members tell us they feel like we’re back in the early days of the pandemic, when so much anxiety was caused by the unknown,” Bill VanGorder, CARP’s Interim Chief Policy Officer said.

“Social isolation is wreaking havoc on seniors across the country. We’re seeing increased rates of depression, cognitive de cline and injury in vulnerable elders who have been cut off from their families due to physical distancing measures. Staying connected to grandchildren is key in keeping older people active, engaged and mentally healthy.”

The organization explained that that grandparents often care for children while their parents go to work, maintaining physical distance will be next to impossible for some families. This possibly poses a serious safety concern, as school-aged children are up to four times more likely to spread the virus to others—a risk older people need to avoid.

They said that with concerns mounting that schools will be a hotbed for outbreaks parents are opting to keep their kids at home or arrange to work from home themselves in order to protect their older loved ones from exposure to COVID-19. As well, according to CARP approximately 400,000 homes in Canada are intergenerational, meaning grandparents are intimately ingrained in the household alongside their younger family members.

“Parents are being reminded how integral grandparents are to keeping their lives running smoothly,” VanGorder explained.

“Many parents are going so far as to split up their family bubble into 2. One parent will bubble with the grandparents and the other with the kids. Urgency breeds creativity, and they want to make sure their family elders are as safe as possible going into the school year.”

The organization explained that for grandparents looking to stay connected to their grandkids, even when maintaining physical distance, there are many options. The organization has put together a list of ways to be a great physically distanced grandparents which was submitted by their membership.