Yellowknife schools will return to in-person learning on Oct. 25.
The announcement came jointly from Yellowknife Education District No. 1, Yellowknife Catholic Schools and la Commission scolaire francophone des Territories du Nord-Ouest on Oct. 21.
The Office of the Chief Public Health Officer has recommended that schools in Yellowknife can reopen based on the decrease in active cases of Covid-19.
Active case counts have dropped significantly recently. The GNWT’s Oct. 21 Covid case count for Yellowknife, Dettah and Ndilo showed 125 active infections.
The Yellowknife school boards want to reassure families that the schools are prepared for students to return.
This is, in part, due to the GNWT launching the Covid-19 At-Home Student Screening Pilot Program, which allows families to “voluntarily screen their asymptomatic children for Covid-19 symptoms before sending them to school.”
The goal of the aforementioned program is to maintain frequent testing of children until a vaccine is available to school-aged children under 12.
Schools from all three school boards will be participating in this pilot program. Staff have reviewed school reopening and exposure control plans to ensure schools are safe to resume in-person learning.
Measures that will remain in place for students and staff include mandatory masking indoors, assigned classroom seating arrangements, no assemblies or singing indoors, increased ventilation in classrooms by opening windows when weather permits and keeping individuals who have any Covid-19 symptoms at home.
Those isolating due to the recent virus clusters must be re-tested and told by Public Health that they can return safely to school.
Those who test positive for Covid-19 will receive advice directly from Public Health as to when their isolation may end.