School boards look to province, health officials for reopening advice
Advisory board says mask rules, cohorts should be loosened
There will be “no push back” from Niagara Catholic District School Board education director Camillo Cipriano if mask rules for students are loosened when classes resume in September.
Earlier this week, the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table, an advisory group consisting of scientific experts and health system leaders who analyze emerging evidence relevant to the COVID-19 pandemic, released recommendations on how the school year could begin.
It is recommending a much different school year, with the return of extracurriculars; loosening mask requirements, distancing and cohorting rules when risk is low, and closing schools only in “catastrophic” scenarios.
“In principle, I would say I agree with the report,” Cipriano said Wednesday.
Given high vaccination rates in the province, the science table expects low levels of transmission of the virus and hospitalizations in the fall.
The advisory group’s report laid out low-, moderate- and high-risk scenarios. When the risk is considered low — hospitalizations are “limited and sporadic” — then masking, distancing and cohorting rules could be relaxed, the report said. Masks could be optional if infection rates and severe disease remain low, but masking guidance in schools should follow community guidance for indoor settings, the experts wrote.
Outdoor masking isn’t recommended except when community transmission is high and distancing isn’t possible.
Neither distancing nor cohorting is recommended in the low-risk scenario.
But when the risk increases, cohorting and masking could return for younger children — who find it more difficult to distance — while masking and distancing are preferred strategies for older students, because cohorting makes schooling, socializing and extracurricular activities more difficult.
Proper hand washing, having staff and students stay home when sick, upgrading indoor air quality systems, and enhanced cleaning measures should be considered permanent measures, the advisory table wrote.
But even when the risk is high — when hospitalizations from COVID-19 are high and continuing to rise — schools should stay open, the experts urged, with prioritized testing and tracing and vaccination.
Cipriano said if public health data allows it, schools should be open, and mask rules and cohorting only be implemented if necessary.
“Our stance has always been that we think kids learn best in schools,” he said.
“We also recognize we were in the middle of a pandemic and we had to put those measures in,” he said about life in schools since last year when masks and cohorting were major factors.
But the direction taken will be handed from public health officials and Education Ministry.
“My opinion is often based on what the medical experts are telling us,” Cipriano said.
“We really don’t have the ability or flexibility to veer away from what they’re telling us,” he said.
A ministry spokesperson said clubs, sports and extracurricular activities are expected to be part of the plan to reopen schools in September, citing mental health of students as a key consideration. Cipriano is pleased about this. “Our schools are more than just places for sitting down and classroom learning.”
District School Board of Niagara spokesperson Carolyn Loconte said safety of staff and students is an “important top priority,” and the board looks to public health officials on how to prepare for September.
“There’s a lot of important research and valuable conversations happening about COVID-19, and that’s good for keeping our communities safe and informed. However, when it comes to our school communities, our direction comes from the Ministry of Education and our partners at Niagara Region Public Health,” said Loconte.
DSBN looks forward to the return of sports and other activities beyond the classroom.
“We will begin with outdoor opportunities and will make modifications to other activities to ensure they uphold the necessary health and safety protocols,” she said.
As time passes, schools will add to the complement of extracurricular offerings that students can participate in, she said .