'Online learning is harmful': Pediatric societies want Manitoba students back in classrooms

The social isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic is deteriorating thewell-being of kids, causing mental health issuesand creating a public health emergency on parwith the coronavirus itself,theManitoba Pediatric Society andCanadian Paediatric Society say.

The groups penned a joint letter to Manitoba's premier and education minister on Friday, urging them to allow students to go back to in-person classes no later than Jan. 17 and to avoid further disruptions in the school year.

"Online learning is harmful. Social isolation and prolonged in-person school closures have precipitated increases in unhealthy behaviours such as excessive screen time, reduced physical activity, and substance use," the letter states.

It isco-signed byDr. Marni Hanna, president of the Manitoba society, Canadian societypresident Dr. Ruth Grimes ( a past Manitoba president), andAmber Miners, a board member with the Canadian society.

A similar letter was sent to Ontario's premier and education minister. Like Manitoba, that province isholding off on sending kids back to in-person classes until at least Jan. 17.

Manitoba's students were originally scheduled to go back to class after the holiday break on Jan. 6, but the provincedelayed that to Jan. 10to assess the impact of the Omicron coronavirus variant and any changes that might need to be made.

Earlier this week,Premier Heather Stefansonannounced that classes will be done remotely for almost all studentsuntil at least Jan. 17.

In the letter from the pediatric societies, Hanna and Grimes acknowledgethe impactof the Omicron variant onhealth-care systems and the need for governments to take measures to protect the viability of hospitals.

But keeping kids in remote learning is not one of the necessary measures, they say.

COVID-19 does not cause severe illness in most children, but the forced isolation has resulted in an increased strain on pediatric and community hospitals due to mental health admissions, they say.

"We have learned that certain decisions and measures pose a far greater risk to children and youth than the virus itself," the letter states.

"Adults are suffering from pandemic fatigue, which will eventually pass. Yet for too many children and youth, the effects of the past 22 months will not be transient. Many will be dealing with the fallout from public health measures for years."

Given the dataon the harms of school closures and the abundance of virus-mitigation resources including vaccines, testing, personal protective equipment andventilation it is imperative for governments to avoid school closures, the letter states.

School closures and remote learninghave disproportionately affected children and youth from racialized communities, and those living in single-parent households or in perilous economic circumstances, it adds.

"School is a source of essential programs, services, and therapies. Over the past two years, those supports have been either absent or radically disrupted."

MTS, school division want tighter restrictions

The letter is in stark contrast to the stance taken by the Manitoba Teachers' Society and the Winnipeg School Division's board of trustees.

Last week, both called for schools to move to red-level restrictions, the highest on the province's pandemic response system, and to shift to remote learning for the entire month of January.

The teachers' union also asked the province to provide medical-grade N95 masks to all education staff who are still at school during remote learning, since the children of critical service workers would still be allowed to go to class.

Betty Edel, chair of the Winnipeg School Division's board of trustees, sent a letter to the province with a similar request for remote learning andsafety measures. She also wants to seerapid tests made available to all staff and students.

The ventilation noted by the pediatric groupshas been a hot topic in Manitoba, where many schoolslackupgraded systems.

Exactly how much ventilation is enough to reduceaerosolized particles to a practical limit is alsounclear, say some experts.