EDITOR, The Tribune.

It is important for schools to open. Our children need to be educated. They need to peer bond. They need socialisation.

The pandemic has caused a back-and-forth with schools opening, closing and being in hybrid virtual mode.

The situation is worse in the public school system. Many low-income children have simply been out of school for two years.

There is consensus that the schools should open. The question is when.

The omicron wave is our second worst wave of the pandemic based on hospitalisations, and hospitalisations are increasing. It’s possible that hospitalisations in this wave may even surpass the record set in the delta wave.

People are also dying. On Thursday the Ministry of Health announced seven people died of COVID-19 over an eight-day period in January.

This is a dangerous period of the pandemic. It is not the time to open schools. We should wait a few weeks until this wave breaks and cases and hospitalisations begin to decline before we open schools.

Opening schools in the middle of the surge will cause the virus to spread more. Minister of Education Glenys Hanna-Martin is making the wrong decision. Rather than erratically opening schools in a surge she should be patient and wait just a bit longer to ensure the health and safety of our kids.

MSG

Nassau,

January 20, 2022.