Edmonton Catholic Schools are reinstating COVID-19 safety measures as hundreds of students prepare to return to year-round schools tomorrow.

       Three schools that operate all year in Alberta’s capital are bringing back mandatory masking, screening protocols and enhanced cleaning as they await updated guidelines from the provincial government.

       The measures will be implemented at St. Teresa of Calcutta Elementary School, St. Catherine Catholic Elementary and Junior High and St. Alphonsus Catholic Elementary and Junior High.

       School division spokeswoman Christine Meadows says further guidance is expected from the province in mid-August, which will direct their back-to-school plans for students returning in September.

       The move comes as Alberta leads the country in active COVID-19 cases.

       Testing, tracing and isolation requirements have been lifted in the province, with quarantine no longer mandatory for positive cases come Aug. 16.

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