In the Quesnel School District, older students are required to wear masks, and most buses will have assigned seating to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19. (File photo)

In the Quesnel School District, older students are required to wear masks, and most buses will have assigned seating to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19. (File photo)

Quesnel School District prepares buses for COVID-19 restart

Students must be pre-registered to ride the school bus

  • Sep. 9, 2020 12:00 a.m.

The day before students return to school in B.C., the Quesnel School District is reminding parents about the new procedure for buses.

All bus students need to be pre-registered by calling 250-992-8361.

READ MORE: Answers to 5 common questions facing families for the COVID-19 school year

The close proximity of a school bus means the risk of COVID-19 transmission is higher, so the division has put policies in place to try to prevent the spread.

The procedures were outlined in a letter sent to parents, and they go far beyond the usual cleaning and mask use.

Entering and exiting the bus will be meticulously planned. Riders will enter back to front and exit front to back, one at a time.

The policy even calls for students to only face forward during the ride.

If a student shows COVID-19 symptoms on the bus, the driver will radio ahead and contact the student’s guardians to immediately pick them up. The student will remain on the bus with a mask, even if they are in a grade below the threshold.

Students from grades 8 to 12 will have to wear a mask while riding.

The district says it will try to seat only one student to a seat but will allow household members to sit together.

When students return to school on Sept. 10, they will be grouped into cohorts of 60 or 120. Students from the same cohort could be seated together as well.

For more information visit, sd28.bc.ca/content/covid-19-updates.

READ MORE: Quesnel School District penning back to school plans

Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email: cassidy.dankochik@quesnelobserver.com


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