Schools around the Lakland and the province will be closed to students as the provincial government tightens regulations to control the COVID-19 outbreak. On Sunday Premier Jason Kenney along with Education Minister Adriana LaGrange and Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Henshaw made the announcement.
Effective immediately, the province says students at Kindergarten to Grade 12 schools can no longer attend regular classes. Post-secondary classes are also canceled. Campuses will remain open.
The Northern Lights Public School Division acknowledged the announcement on their webpage, saying an update to parents would be rolled out Monday. The Lakeland Catholic School Division couldn’t be reached for response at press time.
“These decisions are not made lightly, and I know they will have a tremendous impact on Albertans’ day-to-day lives, particularly parents, children, and seniors. But it is crucial we do everything possible to contain and limit the spread of COVID-19,” says Dr. Hinshaw.
At least two cases of the virus identified in the last two days appear to have been acquired through community transmission from an unknown source in Calgary. In total, 13 of the new cases were in the Calgary zone, with four being reported in the Edmonton zone. The North Zone, which encompasses the Lakeland, still has zero confirmed cases of COVID-19.