With some parents calling for the province to push back the start day to two weeks after the Labour Day weekend, that question was posed to B.C.’s top doctor.

“I don’t think there’s any perfect time whether we push it out two weeks, that’s is just going to give some people more anxiety for longer,” said Dr. Bonnie Henry. “Now is the time where we have to start thinking about those routines that are going to make it work for our families, for our school community, for our children. You know, we need to not prolong the anxiety.”

“We need to get kids used to the thought about ‘oh, yeah, I’m going back to school but no I can’t hug my friends this year.’ It’s going to be a new school year this year, and in the first couple weeks of that, we’ll be all of us, learning that.”

As it stands, B.C. students are going back to class on September 10 for orientation, and more details will be coming from schools next week. Return to school plans for all 60 school districts were posted online this week, after the province approved the plans.

“We have good solid plans in place. People are starting now to prepare for going back to school. We’ve given them notice about that,” Henry added. “The administrative staff in our schools, parents about how we take our child in – those are all the things that are going to happen in the first couple of days and weeks.”

“Its going to be okay. We’re going to work through this and its important for the new school – the look and the feel – for us to get used to it.”

Province Continues to Have Low Community Transmission: Dr. Henry

While COVID-19 cases have increased significantly in August, Dr. Henry says the school plans have been developed with widespread input from the local level.

Speaking on Thursday, she was asked about concerns as some people in several B.C. communities continue to think they are above the rules.

“Schools are a very controlled situation. And I also think what we see in some jurisdictions is a reflection of what’s going on in the community. We have very low transmission in our community, we have low prevalence of disease,” she said.

“We have people who know what to do, and its going to be an adjustment as we go into a school setting. [There are] things that are going to work for each school, and that’s what parents are now getting used to. These plans are in addition to what we do every year, and they are well thought out with each community in mind.”

Henry notes officials are used to dealing with a variety of other respiratory illnesses in a school setting which they will be also be monitoring for in addition to COVID-19.

“I don’t expect to see widespread outbreaks in our school like we have seen in some places,” she said. “I expect that there may be cases now and then and we’ll be there to monitor them, to help through it, to work with each school community, and to make sure they get the notification they need, and the testing, if its needed.”

B.C. Fathers File Lawsuit Against Health, Education Ministries

Meanwhile, two B.C. fathers are taking the province’s health and education ministries to court, demanding they implement tougher safety measures to protect kids from COVID-19 before schools reopen.

An injunction application filed in B.C. Supreme Court claims the province has interfered with the suppression of the virus by reopening schools in a manner that ignores evidence that people with underlying health conditions may be at risk for severe illness.

It says by refusing to implement tougher preventative measures like physical distancing among students in the same learning group, stricter mask rules and reduced class sizes the province is conducting a ‘science experiment in which students and teachers are the guinea pigs.”

None of the allegations have been tested in court.

-With files from The Canadian Press