COVID-19: Saskatoon schools to suspend classes March 20

School's out for spring CTV Saskatoon's Pat McKay has more on the move that will affect thousands of people.

SASKATOON — The province announced Monday morning that pre K-12 classes will be winding down in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Classes at Saskatoon Public Schools and Greater Saskatoon Catholic School Boards, along with the province's other school divisions, will be suspended indefinitely on March 20.

"Over the next couple of days, our classes in this province will wind down," said Premier Scott Moe at a press conference Monday morning in Regina.

"This means that parents who are able to keep their children and home, they should do so immediately. Parents with limited childcare options have a window to plan for these class suspensions," Moe said.

The news came after Alberta cancelled classes over the weekend and Manitoba announced the suspension of classes last week.

While many parents will be left scrambling to find childcare before the suspension comes into effect Friday, it won’t be a struggle for everyone.

“For me, I’m very fortunate with my employer, it won’t be an issue for us,” said Saskatoon mom Jade Suttie. “My company does allow me to work from home, so I will move my computer here and I’ll work remotely.”

Saskatchewan Teachers Federation (STF) president Patrick Maze said the decision to suspend classes comes welcome news for many educators.

“Our teachers had incredible anxiety, worrying about being exposed to the COVID-19 virus,” said Saskatchewan Teachers Federation president Patrick Maze. “This will do a lot to alleviate those concerns for our members.”

Maze said some schools had reported being at only at just 40 to 50 percent capacity already, as some parents have already elected to keep their kids at home.

However, the province says students remaining in school through Thursday face a low-risk of exposure to COVID-19.

Students will receive a final grade based on their current marks and any student who is eligible will graduate Grade 12 this year.

“There are situations where some students are at not passing grades right now,” said Maze. “They’re worried that does that mean they’re locked in, and I’m sure we’ll be able to figure that out amongst their teachers, as far as if additional assignments need to come in.”

All other students will prgress to their next grade level, the province said.

Officials are scheduled to address the school closures and other information on COVID-19 in Saskatchewan at 12 p.m.

School divisions will work with the province's post-secondary institutions to modify entry requirements for the next academic year.

“Those who are worried about marks for getting into university and things like that will probably find some ways to be provided with supplementary work,” Maze said. “Teachers will endeavour to provide that to them as well.”

As to when classes could resume, Maze said it's hard to say.

"But it seems like with what other provinces are going to, it probably makes sense to just call it a wrap and start up again in September," Maze said.

As well on Monday, Saskatchewan Polytechnic announced it is cancelling all classes and programming for the remainder of this week. Saskatchewan Polytechnic programs will be offered online or through alternate delivery options where possible to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission effective March 23, according to a news release.

On Friday, the University of Saskatchewan announced it was suspending all classes on its Saskatoon campus Monday through Wednesday of this week.

Beginning on Thursday, the school will move to remote delivery of classes for the remainder of the winter term.

With files from CTV News Saskatoon's Pat McKay