The Good Spirit School Division implemented a proof of vaccination/negative test policy for all employees on October 8.

Director of Education Quinton Robertson says the policy is similar to what other School Divisions in Saskatchewan have put in place.

GSSD staff have until this Friday (Oct. 29) to provide proof they’re fully-vaccinated, and if not, Robertson says employees will then be required to be tested weekly, starting Monday, November 1.

He says the School Division acquired about 25-hundred test kits for staff and are separate from test kits provided by the Ministry of Education for students.

The cost of testing of staff would be covered by the School Division until the end of December, unless an individual has an exemption, whether medical or under the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code, then the School Division will continue to cover the cost for the individual with the exemption.

However, Robertson anticipates the number of employees with an exemption would be very small.

“We’ll work with individuals that are in between that 14-day period where the vaccine isn’t fully activated,” Robertson noted of employees who are in the process of becoming fully-vaccinated.

“We also have a self-assessment that individuals will be going through, identifying symptoms such as fever, chills, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, decrease or loss of sense of taste or smell, the typical COVID symptoms, and a yes to any of those would disallow that individual from the building or working on that day.” he added.

To date, Robertson says about 75 percent of employees have indicated they’re fully-vaccinated, but adds the percentage is an “under-estimation” because there would be individuals that have either forgotten or neglected to show their proof of vaccination.

He says an administrator has been given a list of individuals that they will connect with this week to determine what the employees’ vaccination status is.

Robertson hopes the process goes smoothly without any major issues.