Some BC parents to keep kids at home in protest of Covid-19 school protocols

A group of B.C. parents is voicing concerns about how the pandemic has been handled in schools.

Tammy Loehendorf of Prince George and Jana Thorn of the Lower Mainland paired up to create ‘Right to Fight Covid-19 BC,’ a one-day protest calling for more transparency when it comes to reporting cases linked to school exposures.

The event is asking worried parents and caregivers to keep their children home from school today (Tuesday).

“We were seeing a steady stream of communication from parents and teachers, and even some students with concerns about the rollout of the (restart) plan,” said Thorn.

“We heard it over the summer, the lead up to it, then, of course, it got even louder as September began,” she added.

Thorn says the reality of the restart plan was different than how it was proposed on paper.

“A lot of what we were hearing from Bonnie Henry and Adrian Dix is that it was the few, the minority that had concerns. We just knew that not to be true. We tried to find a way that we could communicate just how many people had concerns, so that maybe they would stop and take a look at the situation,” Thorn explained.

The organizers are asking for masks to be mandated in schools, transparency in case reporting, and more testing, specifically for asymptomatic individuals.

They are also arguing public health advice regarding small bubbles has been made ‘irrelevant’ within schools.

“As it (the plan) started to play out we began to see the cracks and the holes in it,” said Thorn.

“Unfortunately, when people have more than one child they have more than one cohort. When those children play soccer, baseball, now they’ve got another cohort. If you draw it out on a piece of paper, one immunocompromised person can be exposed to thousands of people.”