The President of the Saskatchewan Teacher’s Federation needs clarification from the province after a directive was sent by the government to all School Board Chairs about rescinding the COVID-19 regulations. Patrick Maze explains that the directive states any requirement for proof of vaccination or a negative test must be removed by the 14th, which was Monday, and all mask provisions by the 28th.

Also, it will no longer be necessary for students and staff to report they have COVID, which means even though schools are still to report outbreaks, Maze wonders how they will know there is one until it is too late and it has already spread to other classrooms. Regulations state that teachers have a duty to report contagious diseases, so Maze is looking for clarification on that. He adds that unlike Alberta and Manitoba, the province is no longer doing daily COVID count reporting and there is not much availability for PCR tests, which makes it more challenging for schools to track what is happening.

If school divisions want to continue with any COVID policies, Maze explains they will have to officially re-implement them in March. However, Maze feels the government has emboldened anti-maskers who feel it is an egregious breach of their rights, which makes it very challenging. He points to protests about masking outside of school division offices and near schools in the past. STF’s President believes this will make the school divisions out to be the bad guys.