OTTAWA -- An infectious disease expert says low COVID-19 cases and small class sizes are key to preventing elementary and secondary schools from turning into COVID-19 hotspots.
School boards in Ottawa and eastern Ontario continue to prepare for the start of the school year on Sept. 3, with measures in place to encourage physical distancing.
During an interview on CTV News at Six, anchor Stefan Keyes asked Dr. Gerald Evans, chair of Queen's University Division of Infectious Diseases, if he is concerned classrooms could become a hotspot to trigger community spread.
"It really depends on really two large factors which we know now influence the likelihood of schools and classrooms being potential sources of COVID-19 outbreaks," said Dr. Evans Sunday evening.
"One is maintaining low community prevalence. I can't emphasise it enough as long as community prevalence of the virus is low, we know that in most jurisdictions where that has happened opening schools has been relatively safe."
Dr. Evans tells CTV News Ottawa the other one that is "key and critical" is the size of classrooms and how many students are in those classrooms.
"That needs to be kept at a small number and whether that means cohorting students so that some smaller classes in the morning for one group, and a smaller class in the afternoon for another group," said Dr. Evans.
"That's really critical, cause when we cram classrooms we have lots of students in classrooms then that increases the probability of outbreaks."
Ottawa Public Health reported 21 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday and Sunday, including six involving residents under the age of 20.
CTV News at Six anchor Stefan Keyes asked Dr. Evans what happens if a child tests positive for COVID-19, and how can parents care for kids in a household.
"At the moment, trying to just to make sure there are not significant outbreaks associated with school is probably the most important thing," said Dr. Evans.
"If a child's found to be positive, obviously they're going to be excluded from attending (school) in person and will have to switch to virtual or online type of setup."
Dr. Evans says that while children may not spread the virus widely, families will need to take precautions to keep everyone safe.
"One of the things that we do know from some studies that have been released lately is that children often times do not generate significant numbers of secondary cases. But, household's are going to have to be prepared to have that child perhaps in a part of the house where some of the parents or caregivers can actually take care of them," said Dr. Evans.
"The good part about is the children don't often get sick, so they may be able to manage them quite readily at home without having to worry about more serious health care concerns."
