Schools follow health officials’ lead on advice for travel in March break

As some families prepare to travel outside Canada for March break, Ottawa school boards say they are looking to public health authorities for guidance on how to continue to protect students from the novel coronavirus once school resumes.

Earlier this week, New Brunswick took the unprecedented step of ordering all students and preschoolers returning from travel abroad to stay away from school for two weeks to prevent the spread of illness.

In Ontario, school boards are following advice from public health authorities, who have not recommended a similar ban.

At the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, for instance, officials say they take guidance from federal, provincial and local health authorities about COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus.

“We have informed parents and staff to follow Ottawa Public Health advice about who should self-isolate and for how long upon returning to Canada,” the board said.

Public health authorities advise travellers returning from Hubei province in China or from Iran to stay home, avoid close contact with others for 14 days, and notify Ottawa Public Health.

Travellers returning to Canada from other countries are advised to monitor their health for 14 days. If they develop any symptoms of COVID -19, such as fever, coughing or difficulty breathing, travellers should isolate themselves from others as quickly as possible and call a health care professional or Ottawa Public Health.

Canada’s public health agency has recommended that Canadians avoid travelling on cruise ships, where passengers include people from around the world who typically have close contact with each other, so the virus can spread quickly.

Travellers can also check the federal government’s travel advisories.