Zoë Watson, the superintendent of the Anglophone South School District. (Image: Tamara Steele)
The Anglophone South School District has seen a spike in student absences since Zone 2 moved to the Red phase this week.
Numbers provided by the school district show around 15 per cent of students were absent Monday and Tuesday.
That figure jumped to 23 per cent on Wednesday the first day in the Red phase and 27 per cent on Thursday.
Zoë Watson, the superintendent of the school district, said she was not surprised by the increase.
“We had noted that same jump in absenteeism back in November when our area went to the Orange phase for the first time,” Watson said in an interview Thursday.
Posted: Jan 19, 2021 9:45 AM AT | Last Updated: January 20
Premier Blaine Higgs and Dr. Jennifer Russell urged residents to continue to follow Public Health measures as the province moves to the yellow phase, warning the variants are still a threat. (Submitted by the Government of New Brunswick)
Classes were cancelled on Thursday after a case of COVID-19 was confirmed in the school community.
In a letter to parents, principal JoEllen Jensen says custodial staff worked all day to disinfect classrooms and common areas.
“It’s a super important time to keep those masks up over noses, practice physical distancing and wash those hands,” Jensen wrote.
“I highly recommend downloading the COVID-19 app on your phones, as we saw that in action today. It works.”
Students in the M-to-Z cohort will return to class Friday while all other students will learn virtually.
Public Health said unless you have been contacted directly by them, you have not been identified as a close contact of the confirmed case.
Courtesy Anglophone East School District (ASD-E)
Edith Cavell School in Moncton will be closed on Friday, January 15 for a third day of at-home learning.
Public Health is continuing to do contact tracing after two cases of COVID-19 were identified at the school this week.
The first case was announced late Tuesday while the second case was revealed late Wednesday.
Through social media, the school says teachers will continue to touch base with students regarding their at-home packages or work on Microsoft Teams.
To our students who normally use our school food programs: Student food boxes full of breakfast and snack items will…
New Brunswick reported 25 new cases of COVID-19 and 15 more recoveries on Friday.
There are six new cases in the Edmundston health region (Zone 4) while the Saint John (Zone 2) and Fredericton (Zone 3) regions each have five new cases.
The Moncton (Zone 1) and Campbellton (Zone 5) regions each reported four new cases and there is one additional case in the Bathurst region (Zone 6).
New Brunswick now has 256 known active cases across the province. Four people are in the hospital, including one person in intensive care.
Meanwhile, most students at Kennebecasis Valley High School in Quispamsis have returned to their regular schedules after a confirmed case was reported Thursday. A few groups continue to learn from home.