A coalition of concerned parents is calling on Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil to keep the Atlantic bubble intact for the sake of the province's children.
Parents for Pandemic Education sent out a public statement reinforcing the need to continue to require any travellers from outside of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, P.E.I., and Newfoundland and Labrador to self-isolate for 14 days after they arrive.
Jennifer Denney-Hazel, a Halifax-area mother of two elementary school children, said parents are happy that the current plan is to fully reopen schools on September 8 but the question is will it be possible to continue to send kids to school if people from other provinces with much higher numbers of COVID-19 cases can come here with no restrictions.
“Right now, we're doing pretty good,” Denney-Hazel said on Monday. “So it just seems like if we've done all this work to do well, at what point is it all for naught? Why did we do all of this if they're just going to open our borders if we don't necessarily have to.”
On Monday, Nova Scotia officials announced no new cases were found in the latest tests, performed Sunday. The last case in the province was identified on July 15.
The provincial education system went completely online in March as health officials grappled with the pandemic. Denny-Hazel, who is a clinical psychologist, said forcing children to learn from home again would be detrimental to children's development.
“Right now, we're doing pretty good. So it just seems like if we've done all this work to do well, at what point is it all for naught? "
- Jennifer Denney-Hazel, Halifax-area mother
“The impact of school closures on the mental health of my kids, the home life, their education – it's going to have long-term effects, I would believe,” she said. “Versus keeping it shut for a few more months or whatever that looks like, especially with the increase in numbers elsewhere, it's not like (other provinces') numbers are as low as ours.”
She said that while her children did “OK,” in the spring, a bigger issue was that they missed their friends. As far as family life, she was the teacher as well as the mom, and while she could work from home, what work she was able to do shifted to the afternoon and into the evening, so there was no real quality of life for anybody.
“I know there's push from other industries . . . which I understand, as well,” Denny-Hazel said. “I'm just looking short term versus long term in terms of the best interest of the kids.
“I just think that the impact on the children – it could have long-lasting effects on some, if not most, especially the kids who don't have maybe as much home support as others, and don't have access to technology. It's trying to keep kids in schools where they need to be. So, anything that puts that at risk in terms of opening the Atlantic bubble without quarantine is putting kids at risk, and that's a concern.”
The coalition statement said the provincial tourism businesses are not calling for the borders to open. The parents want the province to be more forthcoming with where the perceived push to further open up is coming from.
Provincial spokeswoman Heather Fairbairn said in an email that when a decision is made on further relaxing restrictions it will be released publicly.
“Any decisions about potentially expanding the regional bubble to include residents of other Canadian provinces / territories will be based on our experience with COVID-19 in the coming days/weeks and the epidemiology at the time.”
According to the federal government's online pandemic information, Quebec has had the largest total number of cases with 58,583 to date. Ontario is second with 38,680, and Alberta third with 10,086. Nova Scotia has had a total of 1,067 cases. Ontario reported 119 new cases on Monday, Quebec 145 and Alberta 91.
