Province says ‘no concerns have been raised’ by school district about air quality at Tantramar High
An area resident is raising concerns about air quality in schools after her 14-year-old son caught COVID-19 and became gravely ill.
Laura Beazley has two sons, both of them at Tantramar High. The youngest, a Grade 9 student, has Type 1 diabetes.
That condition makes people more likely to have serious complications with COVID-19, according to the American Diabetes Association.
Sure enough, when he returned to school in September — with mask mandates no longer in effect — he became sick with COVID, and his condition quickly deteriorated.
Medical ordeal
“The time from testing positive to being in full blown diabetic ketoacidosis was so fast, it was 17 hours,” Beazley said, noting that his sickness coincided with the arrival of Hurricane Fiona. “And he was in critical condition.”
Diabetic ketoacidosis is a condition that can lead to a coma or death. He recovered after being hospitalized twice, but has suffered from other “mysterious illnesses” following his recovery.
Listen to the interview that aired on CHMA FM on Dec. 14, 2022:
Beazley, whose family is fully vaccinated and boosted, says his story shows the provincial government should step up and ensure schools have clean air.
But a spokesperson for the Department of Education says “no concerns have been raised” by the school district about conditions at Tantramar High.
The Anglophone East School District and Tantramar High didn’t respond to queries from CHMA.
Last month, school principal Susan Lafford told parents that about one-third of students were absent daily because of illness, and that many staff were off sick.… Continue