HUMBOLDT — Staff absences within the Horizon School Division have been reduced by almost half since January, according to Randy MacLean, it’s deputy director of education
The numbers were discussed during the February board meeting. In January, the division reported that they were facing an above average amount of staff absences, reaching up to 20 per cent at one time. A normal year would see 10 to 15 per cent.
Since that time, MacLean said both the number of days of staff absences have dropped as well as the amount of absences in general to half that.
During a standard year, they would see between 90 to 110 staff absences across the system per day. At its peak during Omicron, it rose to over 200. Now, MacLean said it’s climbing back down.
“We’re seeing a reduction as Omicron has worked its way through, but there are a couple pieces to that as well,” MacLean said.
“At one point when someone was going to be absent due to an infection related to COVID, they would be absent for 14 days. The isolation period was 14 days, then it shifted to 10 days, now it's shifted to five. As the government shifts their mandates, we’re also seeing a reduction in the number of days people are away from work.”
The division is still working through what these results mean for the infection rates. While the government’s change of mandates can be attributed to the lower number of staff absences needed, the same can’t be connected to the lower number of staff taking absences.
MacLean said that as a senior staff member, they’re seeing this as largely positive.
“People in general are doing a better job of taking care of themselves and the recognition of, ‘If I’m not feeling well, then I need to take care of my colleagues, take care of myself to bring my best self to work.’”
He said the division will continue examining the numbers weekly to ensure they can deploy resources appropriately.
