According to Rocky View Schools (RVS), 15 per cent of students in the public school division have been absent from school in the month of November.
“RVS has experienced similar student attendance trends as other divisions in the province with more significant increases in the past few weeks,” a Nov. 17 statement from the school division reads.
The division went on to state these absentee rates are fairly evenly spread throughout grades, and do not appear to be more widespread in any particular age group.
The spike of 15 per cent is up markedly from the month of October, when RVS confirmed it experienced a nine per cent absenteeism rate, and also from the month of September, when numbers ranged between seven and eight per cent.
And while RVS does not break down those numbers to determine their cause, the spike in absences parallels other school divisions across the province who have seen increased absentee rates due to the proliferation of influenza and other respiratory illnesses.
Edmonton Public Schools reported a 13 per cent absentee rate in November this past week. The Calgary Board of Education reported a similar increase which, according to local media reports, has seen that absenteeism numbers triple in recent weeks.
There have been growing calls during this most recent spike in respiratory-related illnesses among students for the provincial government to reinstate masking mandates in schools; calls which Premier Danielle Smith has rejected, insisting masking will remain a choice rather than a mandate.
Alberta’s newly appointed interim Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Mark Joffe, said in a statement released to media Nov. 17 that the province is concerned about the increase in symptoms of coughs and fevers in schools and daycares, and is monitoring the situation closely.
But Joffe also stopped short of recommending any type of masking.
“We encourage Albertans to judge their risk at any point in time and take appropriate precautions,” he said in a government press release.
