Parents take matters into own hands for reporting COVID-19 cases in N.L. schools

Since schools in Newfoundland and Labrador are not publicly reporting COVID-19 cases found in their buildings, parents have taken it upon themselves to keep others informed.

Last week parent Amanda Bamburyof Clarenville founded a Facebook group where parents can letother parents know about positive COVID-19 cases found in any given school in the province. As of Tuesday morning the group had more than 12,000 members, with parents routinely identifying positive cases within their school communities.

The group'srules are simple: names ofchildren with COVID-19 aren't to be shared unless the parent of the child chooses to do so. Members also can't makenegative comments about the school, the class, the students or other parents.

"As much as I wanted my kids back in school, I couldn't chance it right now because of government's decision not to give parents any indication of positive cases in schools and in classrooms," Bambury told CBCNewson Tuesday.

"I felt like the only way I could make an informed decision as a parent in my situation, whether to send them or pull them out at any given time, was if I had that information, and I knew I couldn't be the only one feeling that way."

Bambury has two children, in Grade 4 and Grade 9. She said neither has been back in class since the holiday break ended in January because she and her mother both have an autoimmune disorder. She said her youngest son also has medical issues that makes him high risk.

She hatched the Facebook group with the sole purpose of focusing on Clarenville-area schools, but the popularity of her COVID-19 information quick-stoptook off and now includes parents from across the province from both English and French school districtsand the province's private schools.

Bambury said she did get nervous after the response from parents grew so quickly, with privacy concerns at the forefront of her mind.

"But people have been really, really good and I want to thank them for that," she said. "[They have] been very informative, and very supportive and very good with privacy."

On Monday, the Newfoundland and Labrador English School District told CBC Newscontact tracing and contact notification within the school context is a public health matter. The district said the notificationissue, and any issues with the guidance for returning to in-person classes, is best addressed by Public Health.

Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says if parents are comfortable with using the Facebook group, whichis not connected to the provincial government, then it's OK for them to do so.

"We have made our recommendations based on what we feel is appropriate from a public health point of view and a public health standpoint," said Fitzgerald in Tuesday's COVID-19 briefing.

"It's difficult for me, or for any of us in public health,really, to control what people do individually and what groups of people have decided they want to do."

Fitzgerald said the risk of COVID-19 in the classroom setting is lower, as children are wearing masks for the majority of the day. Cohorting, sanitization and screening are also in place for when kids are sick, she said.

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