MONTREAL -- Quebec's plan to gradually reopen its schools and send the province's students back to their classrooms - an announcement not expected until next week but already polarizing - has received a major endorsement.

In an open letter made public Thursday, the Quebec Association of Pediatricans said that "a gradual return to real life for our children is not only welcome, but it is also necessary."

Calling the past six weeks, during which Quebec schools have been closed amid the COVID-19 pandemic, "surreal" and "life-changing," the association said "the option of postponing the resumption of school life further is difficult to defend," especially given the widespread belief that COVID-19 will be a part of our lives for a long time to come.

"Thousands of children have found themselves at home, far from infection, of course, but also deprived of everything that constitutes the very essence of childhood," the association said in its letter, signed by pediatricians Marie-Claude Roy, France De Villers, Marc Lebel and Catherine Dery, members of the association's executive.

"In the absence of the social safety net represented by daycare centres and schools, with the decrease in primary care, it is clear that the collateral damage from prolonged confinement is already vast and worrying."

Noting the consensus among scientists and public health officials about the fact that COVID-19 is not a danger to the vast majority of children, the association said: "Children are therefore confined, essentially, to protect their grandparents."

But that confinement has had its own set of costs for children, the association argued, noting several reasons it believes a return to school would be beneficial.

Among the risks to children that have developed during isolation and which could be relieved by deconfinement, according to the association:

  • some 240,000 disadvantaged Quebec children benefit from having breakfast at school daily, the absence of which can harm their health
  • reports to the DPJ, Quebec's youth-protection agency, have "dropped drastically in recent weeks," which the association links to the fact that children at risk are isolated from the outside world
  • screen time use, which can be harmful to children's development, has likely skyrocketed during confinement
  • widespread confinement has led to a backlog in needed vaccinations, and catching up with that backlog will take time, during which we may see a rise in diseases such as chickenpox
  • children with developmental delays or other special needs are not receiving the treatments they need, which could have "irreversible and long term consequences" on their development
  • a lack of contact with friends and peers, contributing to a significant sense of anxiety

The association says the return "will have to be gradual and careful. The grandparents of these children remain extremely vulnerable, as do the older school and daycare staff. Quebec doctors and pediatricians will be there to receive, treat and reassure families."

The association added that it trusts Quebec public-health to properly and safely implement a back-to-school plan.