The Quebec government announced earlier this week that students in Red Zone regions will not be allowed to attend prom for a second year in a row.
High schools that are located in Red Zone regions are not allowed to organize big events with students from different class bubbles, which would make planning for a big event difficult. For this reason, the government decided to cancel proms in these regions, to ensure the health and safety of all students and school staff.
The cancelling of high school’s big night caused extreme anger and devastation to students, parents, and school staff. With the loosening of restrictions, people questioned how attending an event like prom would be different from other events that are being permitted in the province.
The likelihood of planning an event for prom would be challenging for the many reasons:
-Events must only include students and staff. Parents are allowed to attend by video conferencing only.
-End-of-school activities are permitted for students in the same class bubble.
-Photos are allowed only if taken by bubble class.
-If students wish to sign yearbooks, social distancing must be respected and with one pen per student (no sharing).
The government, however, is now re-evaluating their decision after the major backlash they received. Dr. Horacio Arruda shared on Wednesday that his team is looking into alternatives that they can recommend instead of cancelling the event completely.
No final decision has been made, however they are looking into the possibility of allowing schools to host the event by the end of summer, when most students should have received their first dose of the vaccine.
