Kids won’t need masks in schools where risk low, pediatric experts say
Sports, music and extracurriculars should resume: ‘We are at a different place than we were last year’
Leading pediatric experts say masks, cohorting and physical distancing are not needed this fall in schools in areas where the COVID-19 risk is low, and that sports, music and extra- curriculars should resume.
In its report on the safe resumption of in-person learning this fall, the experts at Sick Kids, the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) and other pediatric hospitals also say schools should only be shut down in “catastrophic circumstances” because of the toll such measures take on kids.
They also urge high schools to resume normal schedules and ditch the hated quadmester as soon as feasible.
“We are at a different place than we were at this time last year, when we were making recommendations to schools because we have a whole year of evidence — and it’s been coming fast and furious, especially in the last few weeks out of the U.S. and Europe and Canada as well,” said Dr. Nisha Thampi, a director and pediatric infectious diseases physician at CHEO, and a lead author of the report.
“That evidence helped us understand that we could frame our recommendations to what is developmentally appropriate for children.”
The experts also took the advice of pediatricians, infectious disease specialists, education experts, mental health specialists as well as parents, students and the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table.
The report breaks down different scenarios for low, moderate and higher risk COVID areas, and by kindergarten, elementary, middle and high school.
For younger children, their homeroom class is a natural cohort, she added, but that’s not possible for teens, so the experts recommend that school boards do away with the muchdisliked octomesters or quadmesters or other modifications and return to normal semestering as soon as feasible.
“Children need to be in school,” added Dr. Ronald Cohn, president of Sick Kids Hospital.
The report says that “in-person learning is essential for the learning and overall well-being of children and youth. Therefore, barring catastrophic circumstances, schools should remain open for in-person learning” and should continue promoting vaccinations, asking staff and students to remain home when feeling ill, focusing on ventilation and enhanced cleaning.
“Temporary measures (e.g., masking, physical distancing, cohorting) implemented in response to changes in COVID-19 disease burden should take into consideration student age, grade, and vaccination status. Re-initiation and maintenance of extracurricular activities (e.g., music, sports, clubs) is an important component of return-to-school plans.”
The report does not recommend mandatory vaccines for staff or students, but does ask that schools continue to “strongly encourage” everyone to get their shots and for public health units and boards to keep track of aggregate vaccination statistics.
The report also says “it is recognized that individual jurisdictions in a low-risk scenario in September 2021 may choose more relaxed or more strict temporary measures depending on their local circumstances.”
It says in higher-risk areas, physical distancing of one-metre “between students should be aimed for when distancing is required, provided students are masked.”
The report, which does not weigh in on the learning needs of kids returning to in-person classes after numerous disruptions over the past year and a half, does say there may need to be a “readjustment period” beyond September to help students ease back into classes and catch up.
Meanwhile, experts who are speaking to coaches and teachers around the province about the upcoming school year say Ontario schools must have a “post-vaccine mindset” for the fall and plan for a full slate of extracurricular activities, given the lack of sports and clubs during pandemic lockdowns disproportionately hit needy kids the most.
Dr. Christopher Booth, an oncologist and public health science professor at Queen’s University, recently gave a presentation to school athletic co-ordinators across the province about the return of fall sports for students.
His presentation — based on consultations with dozens of pediatricians, infectious diseases experts, teachers, coaches, senior board administrators, and Ontario’s public health leadership — looks at how extracurricular activities could be included in September.
“Closure of in-person school and loss of school sports has disproportionately affected kids from the most vulnerable backgrounds,” he told the Star in a telephone interview. “While club sports have already resumed, these are not accessible to all children — providing these opportunities within the school system is an important issue of health justice and equity.”
And while kids are resilient, he added “they are resilient up to a point” with studies showing just how the mental and physical health of children have suffered during the school lockdowns, including a recent one released by Sick Kids that found more than half of kids ages eight to 12 and 70 per cent of teens had “clinically significant depressive symptoms” during the pandemic’s second wave and long hours of online learning. Researchers said in addition to a full return to school, extracurricular activities and mental health supports will be key to getting kids’ wellness back on track.
On Friday, Ontario’s Ministry of Colleges and Universities said it wants post-secondary institutions to have in-person classes and says no class-capacity limits need to be put in place, nor physical distancing requirements. It is, however, recommending masking indoors, a push on vaccine promotion and rapid, asymptomatic testing.
Ontario is expected to release its full plans for elementary and secondary schools in the coming weeks.
Jurisdictions around the world, however, are already issuing their recommendations for school reopenings this fall, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the U.S. citing regular testing, social distancing and mask-wearing for anyone two years and older who isn’t fully vaccinated.
However, the CDC also said schools should fully resume inperson learning, even if all of their recommendations can’t be put in place, given the harms kids have experienced during shutdowns.
Booth said that during the first two waves of the pandemic, “we failed the elderly” given the numerous, fatal outbreaks in nursing homes. However, he added, “in the most recent wave it became clear that our system was failing marginalized populations and workers in Greater Toronto. Throughout the pandemic we have also failed our kids. For the most vulnerable children, these harms will be long-standing.”
He said there has been a cumulative effect of kids being shuttled between online and inperson learning, together with the loss of important life milestones and socialization. “For many kids, losing the end of the school year was probably the icing on the cake,” he added.
Ontario students learned online for 26 weeks during the past year and a half — longer than any others in the country and around the world.
But the vaccines are a gamechanger, Booth said, adding “we can look to the fall with hope and optimism.”
Statistics, collected earlier in the pandemic, showed that for sports including soccer, COVID transmission was negligible. Mounting evidence has also shown that schools, while reflecting COVID levels in their communities, were not major drivers of transmission, including recently studies from the European CDC.
“The real-world data from youth sport over the last year is reassuring” and this was collected during widespread community transmission, prior to vaccines, Booth noted.
In his meetings with teachercoaches and school board leadership, there is excitement to plan for a return of these important activities which can always be “scaled back” if COVID-19 surges again in the fall.
“The mental and physical health risks of not resuming these activities for youth are substantial. These need to be considered against the risks of opening sport which in the setting of widespread adult vaccination are likely small,” Booth said. “We need to imagine a future with a post-vaccine mindset.”
Peter Stelter, a Kingston-area high school teacher and longtime coach, said “clubs, choir, dramatic productions and sports are the lifeblood of schools. Sport and extracurricular activities belong in the public education system. The role of a caring, professional teacher as coach or supervisor is an instrumental part of the education system. The profound sense of loss of educational experiences in schools has been evident over this past year.”
He said the education system and teachers “have a commitment to serve all children in the community. This is the cornerstone of public education. The private club model of sport and extracurriculars is, by its very nature, exclusive. Sport and extracurriculars in the club model is not an equitable system. Many of my most vulnerable students and athletes were unable to engage in any organized sport or extracurricular activities this past year due to the loss of school activities.”
Last month, more than 160 Ontario coaches and teachers sent a letter to the education minister, urging that kids be allowed to play school sports in September.
“High school football in particular provides a diverse student population much needed access to both the physical and mental benefits of team sport,” their letter said. “Without a full return to high school sports it is the least fortunate of our students who will be the most adversely affected.
“Those with the means will be able to pay for extracurriculars elsewhere, those without will have to suffer another year of missing out.”
“The real-world data from youth sport over the last year is reassuring.” DR. CHRISTOPHER BOOTH QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY