Ontario promises ‘robust’ testing in schools
What Toronto, Peel students need to know before returning to class
As Toronto and Peel Region students prepare to return to bricks-and-mortar classrooms Tuesday, some parents may wonder if any new measures are being taken to keep their kids virus-free.
In-person schooling will largely operate just as it did in September, with a few tweaks to when students should stay away from the classroom and when masks are worn.
Toronto
Toronto Public Health (TPH) broadened the screening tool it requires students in the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) and Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) to complete every day before class.
As was previously the case, if a student or teacher is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, they must stay home.
Now, in addition, if someone in a household begins experiencing symptoms, any students, school staff or teachers who live with them must remain home until their housemate is cleared of the virus.
Students and teachers will also be grounded if anyone in their household has travelled, or been in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, while they self-isolate for 14 days.
Ontario has also promised “robust” asymptomatic COVID testing in schools in concert with their reopening.
“Testing will look different from school to school,” said Ryan Bird, spokesperson for the Toronto District School Board. “Prior to the winter break, some testing was conducted in schools, some at a nearby site people could go to. It really depends on the local circumstances and the availability of staff to run it.”
In-school testing has not rolled out evenly in other Ontario districts where schools are already open. At the end of January, the Star contacted 18 public health units where it was aware schools had opened; of the 11 that responded by Feb. 1, only one, Sudbury, confirmed that asymptomatic testing had been done.
Dr. Vinita Dubey, associate medical officer of health at TPH, said her public health unit recommends testing be conducted in schools if a student, staff or family member reports experiencing COVID-19 symptoms in the building. Asymptomatic testing of the student body and faculty should be conducted if someone at the school has gotten sick and the source of their infection can’t be traced, or following a student or staff member testing positive for a COVID-19 variant.
“It is important to remember that COVID-19 does not spread from specific locations, or settings,” Dubey said. “COVID-19 spreads through close contact with someone who is infected with the virus. This is why we also continue to recommend for residents to reduce the amount of time spent in nonessential contact, keep a distance from others of at least six feet or two metres, wear a wellfitting mask, wash your hands often and stay at home if you are sick.”
Students will now be required to wear masks outside when physical distancing is not possible. TPH recommends students wear a non-medical mask with at least two cloth layers. (It said a third filter layer can provide added protection.) School staff will continue to wear medical masks. TCDSB and TDSB students will also be given opportunities to take breaks from masks throughout the day including during lunch and recess — as long as they are physically distanced.
Peel Region
Peel’s two school boards now require all students up to Grade 12 to wear a mask — including kindergarteners, as recommended by Peel Public Health. Students must wear either a non-medical or cloth mask or some other face-covering, both indoors and outdoors.
“Upon careful review and consideration of local indicators, we believe it is possible, and in fact, imperative, that schools begin to open even before community restrictions are lifted,” said Dr. Lawrence Loh, Peel’s medical officer of health.
Peel Public Health also tweaked its screening measures. Schools will provide elementary students with a list of screening questions that they need to complete at home every day before going to school. If they answer “yes” to any of the questions, parents will need to notify the school, keep their child at home to self-isolate and reach out to a health-care provider.
Secondary students are required to complete a screening test every day, which they can complete online or on a printout sheet, just like they did after returning from winter break. Students need to show staff that they’ve passed the test before starting school, or else they won’t be able to enter their classrooms.
Parents and visitors that need to go inside schools also need to verify with staff that they’ve completed and passed the selfassessment test.
They also need to follow the same masking and physical distancing protocols as students and staff. (Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, meanwhile, advises parents and guardians to avoid congregating on school property before and after school.)
Peel Public Health will provide same-day access to community testing sites for students and staff experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. If a school has multiple cases, an outbreak or cases of COVID-19 variants, public health will provide on-site testing.
Peel Public Health and Student Transportation of Peel Region have also decreased school bus capacity limits to improve physical distancing between students.
On top of these modifications, Peel schools will continue to enforce the same measures, including masking, physical distancing, hand hygiene and staying home if unwell, introduced by Peel Public Health in September.