Minister of Education Dustin Duncan says Covid is something we must all live with today, from a press conference held at the Provincial Legislature.

“We know that as covid case numbers increase in the community, and as omicron becomes the dominant strain in Saskatchewan we are going to see increased cases in schools. This is our reality”

Duncan does expect that this wave will cause some disruption within the system – but the province did not see keeping 188,000 students out of school as an option and stressed the importance of inclass learning for students.

The announcement comes on the heels of the province announcing 1954 new covid 19 cases over the 4 day break from reporting numbers taken over NYE.

The province says they will continue to support school systems in the same manner as they have throughout the pandemic – and asked families to keep utilizing rapid tests, vaccinations, and masking as the best way to protect students. Medical grade surgical masks have been made available to families through elementary schools, Rapid test kits will now be available in highschools – with over 250,000 rapid tests currently being distributed to schools across the province.

This is the third academic year where staff and students have had to deal with the Covid-19 Pandemic.