COVID-19 cases reported at 11 Regina public schools

COVID-19 debated at the Legislature WATCH: On day two of Spring Session at the Saskatchewan Legislature COVID-19 was again front and centre. Allison Bamford explains.

REGINA — With COVID-19 cases increasing in children under 12, some schools in Regina are experiencing outbreaks and are urging students with symptoms to stay home.

On Monday, Henry Janzen Elementary School announced students in Kindergarten to Grades 4 and 5 would switch to online learning starting Tuesday, Sept. 21 until Friday, Oct. 1.

According to a news release from Regina Public Schools, the following 10 schools are also experiencing COVID-19 cases:

The Regina Catholic School Board is urging students to follow the provincial guidelines set for students who have been identified as close contacts based on their symptoms and vaccination status.

Regina Public Schools was unavailable for an interview with CTV News, but  urges anyone with symptoms to call HealthLine 811 and remain at home.

Those in the medical field reiterate this is a predictable situation as COVID cases surge outside in the general population.

“The sad reality here is that what happens in schools basically echoes what happens in community and so when you have huge amounts of community transmission, it's inevitable that there's going to be, you know cases in schools,” Dr. Alexander Wong, an infectious diseases physician at the Saskatchewan Health Authority said Monday. “There’s a lot of confusion right now in schools around what appropriate protocols are, what's safe and not safe. Our public health people are working I think to try to address that as quickly as possible.”

Pfizer is reported to have good results in those aged 5-11 and is planning on submitting the reports to regulators soon.