Good evening and thank you for joining us.
With the August long weekend now behind us, a new and very different school year
is fast approaching.
Across the country, provinces have unveiled plans for getting kids back into classrooms,
though many parents and students are still wondering how it will work and whether it's
safe. In tonight's Top Story, Heather Yourex West digs into the latest research
on kids and covered 19 and how public health officials are trying to manage
the risks.
Send children back to class and risk infection.
Keep them at home and risk their education or emotional health.
It's a decision facing parents right now that appears to be no win.
In Alberta, more than 6000 parents have signed an open letter voicing concerns
about the province's plan for getting kids back to class.
If you think about the fact that a lot of people have asthma if you think about the fact
that a lot of people have heart disease, if you think about the fact that a lot of
children see their grandparents, all of these things create vulnerabilities from
the get go. And so it seems very difficult
to simply say that we will just see how it goes.
Schools will be operating in uncharted territory, relying on research that is still
incomplete, with new data emerging almost every day.
I think all these studies, a lot of them contradict each other.
And so it does make it really confusing.
Last week, a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found
young kids with COVID-19 carried more virus in their nose and throats than older
kids and adults. But that may not mean kids are easily able to spread that virus
around.
I think that little kids, young children are not coughing as
forcefully. They may not have as many symptoms, so maybe they're not really coughing
as much.
In Australia, where schools remained open during the first wave, data published Monday
suggests that when physical distancing and hygiene measures are in place, the risk of
transmission is low.
After looking at data from 25 schools between January and April, researchers
found that although 27 children or teachers went to school while infectious
out of a possible 1448 contacts, the virus only spread
to an additional 18 people.
Of course, there are social and emotional risks to keeping kids out of school as well.
What we don't want to do is then have a cohort of kids that have missed
really important parts of their education, which are necessarily for
most of these age groups, building blocks for their later educational success.
It's why many provinces are determined to get kids back to class, even as
what is known about the virus continues to change.
There is still a lot of evidence from international sources and other jurisdictions
that we are carefully reviewing.
Our guidance will be updated in the coming weeks when we complete this evidence review.
So though the school year is just weeks away.
Back to school plans could still change by the time kids are ready for their first day.
Heather Yourex West Global News, Calgary.
More than one point three million Canadians have hearing disabilities.
That's according to Statistics Canada.
And nearly one quarter report, they read lips to communicate.
Now they're having to navigate a world where face masks are being warned to slow the
spread of COVID-19. As Crystal Goosmansigh reports, the hearing impaired community
is advocating for wider use of a special mask designed to help
meet their needs.
Masks are a part of daily life in the UK, and Mungai Sutarson is
all too aware of the rules.
Standing, waiting for the moment, someone speaks to her and fills her with dread.
She says, For me, it's so important.
It doesn't matter if I'm communicating with another deaf person or hearing person.
Lip reading is incredibly important.
If someone is signing to me and they're not using lip patterns and mouth movements,
it's impossible to understand.
Sutarsan is the director of Empowering Deaf Society.
She understands the importance of masks, but wants everyone else to understand
how they and other face coverings are leading to millions of people feeling
excluded from society.
It's created just not only communication issues, but very much mental
health issues. There's a lot of aches.
There's a lot of frustration.
There's a lot of fear.
In an effort to address those feelings, the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association is
looking to the federal health minister to advocate for wider use of clear
plastic face shields. They remove the barrier for those who need to read lips
while keeping people safe.
There were also masks with clear panels to raise awareness.
Paramedic Danny Hughes took to social media recently to show people
how he's using his phone to bridge the divide.
Some of our patients and serviced users rely on lip reading to communicate
and wearing a mask makes live reading almost impossible.
Sutarsan like her Canadian counterpart, wants the government to advocate for more
clear masks to be produced and used, allowing her to go back to doing
regular tasks without heightened anxiety.
Crystal Goosmansigh, Global News. London.