New Brunswick lifted all remaining COVID-19 restrictions just as students returned to classes from March Break two weeks ago. 

Some parents have welcomed the end of universal indoor masking at schools. But others have called for the mandate to remain in place until at least the end of April, with a petition that had gathered nearly 1,500 virtual signatures by Monday. 

Previously on CHMA, we heard from Kathleen Gadd, a Mount Allison University graduate and mother of three children, one of the petition’s co-authors. She warned about issues including a wave of infections hitting the families of teachers and other staff who might be vulnerable to severe COVID-19. Since then, reports have emerged of high rates of staff absenteeism, particularly at schools in the Moncton region. 

For more on this story, CHMA spoke to Connie Keating, president of the New Brunswick Teachers Association and co-president of the New Brunswick Teachers Federation, the union representing teachers. 

Keating is also a longtime teacher who studied at Mount Allison University. In an interview on Friday, she said absenteeism is a major issue across the province. 

But it’s unclear whether COVID-19 is the culprit, she said, because reliable data isn’t available.

Listen to the CHMA story below: