MONTREAL -- As vaccinations open for children as young as 12, infections in Quebec schools are quickly dropping.
Still, hundred of students and staff are enduring the virus, with public and private schools reporting at least 814 active infections among students and staff, according to government data.
As of Friday afternoon, there were 124 active outbreaks associated with schools and educational childcare establishments, collectively representing 42 per cent of active outbreaks across the province.
There are 759 students and 55 staff members with active COVID-19 infections, according to a report published by the province on June 10, which covers both students attending classes and learning from home.
A total of 1,407 variant coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the Quebec school system. Of those, 1,119 were found in the public school system, and 288 were found in private schools.
Since classes resumed on Jan. 5, a total of 2,581 schools have reported at least one coronavirus case, or 86 per cent of the 2,994 schools in the Quebec system.
Scroll to the bottom of the page or click here for a full list of schools with active infections
In the first semester, 17,327 students and 4,038 staff members had contracted COVID-19 before schools closed for the holidays on Dec. 22.
READ MORE ABOUT COVID-19 IN QUEBEC'S SCHOOLS: Teachers 'scratching their heads' as high school students head back to class just weeks before summer vacation: union
With just weeks left in the school year, students and parents will need to adjust yet again to resumption of extracurriculars, and the return to daily in-person classes.
“I do not understand why we would have to change it up with two and a half weeks left,” said Heidi Yetman, president of the Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers (QPAT).
COVID-19 vaccinations officially open to Quebec teens 12 to 17
Quebecers aged 12 to 17 can now make an appointment to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
The vaccination campaign was originally set to start Tuesday, but time slots became available as of Monday evening on the Clic Santé portal.
Vaccination efforts will focus on schools during the weeks of June 7 and 14.
Quebec schools without air purifiers have 3 to 4 times more COVID-19 cases, says dad running citizen count
Since January, most English public schools in the Montreal area without built-in mechanical ventilation have had air purifiers, air exchangers or some other form of extra air-quality device.
French public schools in the same types of buildings have not had air purifiers.
The provincial government continues to say that air purifiers aren't necessary or proven to work, but the citizen paying the closest attention to the numbers says that based on his data so far, it seems they do.
-- With files from The Canadian Press and CTV News reporters Amy Luft, Daniel J. Rowe, and Adam Kovac.
