'Word will get around' about COVID-19 cases and absences when schools reopen, Etches says

Ottawa's medical officer of health says word of mouth will notify students, parents and guardians and teachers about rising COVID-19 absences in schools before absenteeism reaches the threshold for the principal to notify public health officials.

The Ontario government says parents will only be notified of a potential COVID-19 outbreak in a school when approximately 30 per cent of staff and students in the school are absent. At that point, a joint letter from the local medical officer of health and the principal will be sent to the school community.

The Ford government said late Wednesday afternoon that parents will have access to daily school absentee data starting Jan. 24.

Dr. Vera Etches says that with the level of Omicron "high right now in our community", parents and students will know when there are an increase in absences in schools.

"I am sure that word will get around when people are staying home when they’re sick, before we reach the 30 per cent threshold," said Etches on Wednesday, noting using the screening tool every day and staying home when sick is important.

"People are being asked to notify their close contacts when they test positive."

In December, the Ontario government told school boards it was suspending reporting of COVID-19 cases in schools, and case numbers will no longer be posted.

Teachers in Ottawa are concerned with the new directive for reporting cases to Ottawa Public Health.

"We’re going into basically the Wild West with no reporting and it’s a 30 per cent absentee rate which is quite high and only then will it become a consideration to look into why some of these people are absent," said Erica Potter, Ottawa Carleton District School Board teacher.

The Ottawa Catholic School Board says it is waiting for more details on reporting from the province.

"I really don’t know if 30 per cent is going to be a good indicator and because we haven’t received the tool yet we don’t know what benchmark the government is going to use for that, so we will need a few days to work that out," said Tom D'Amico, director of education with the Ottawa Catholic School Board.

D'Amico says during flu season, the board would investigate if about 10 per cent of the school was absent.

"If 10 per cent were absent we would bring in extra cleaning, we would monitor to find out if it’s the flu that’s spreading and what can we do," said D'Amico.

"In the last two years we don’t have those benchmarks because nothing has been normal."

Etches says the management of the situation does not change whether or not someone has tested positive at school.

"If somebody in a classroom tests positive, the advice to everyone else in that classroom is to monitor symptoms for 10 days," said Etches. "If somebody in a classroom is sick and goes home, the actions that people in the classroom should still be taking is every day before they go to school is to monitor for symptoms."

Students in Ottawa's four school boards will return to class on Monday for the first time after the holiday break. Students with the Ottawa Carleton District School Board and Ottawa Catholic School Board have been engaged in online learning since Jan. 5, while students with the two French boards returned to class online on Monday.

"I do appreciate the mixed reaction to the announcement by the province that in-person learning will resume on Monday, Jan. 17. The in-person learning is welcome news for many parents and caregivers, but I can understand that others may be concerned. Parents do have many questions," said Etches.

"Each family can and should make individual assessments on what will work best for them when it comes to sending their children back for in-person learning."

Etches says it's key for everyone in the community to do their part to decrease the risk of COVID-19 in schools and in child care settings, including getting vaccinated and staying home when sick.

The medical officer of health adds there are layers of protection in schools to slow transmission compared to other settings.

"These layers include daily screening, wearing a well-fitted mask, hand washing, distancing, cohorting and increased ventilation. Using the online screening tool each day before entering a school or a child care environment is one of the most important ways to keep COVID-19 out of schools and child care settings," said Etches.

The Ontario government announced Wednesday that each student and staff member will receive two COVID-19 rapid tests when in-person learning resumes on Monday. Symptomatic students and staff members are being told to take two COVID-19 rapid tests separated by 24 to 48 hours.

"I'm not sure that that's going to get most people to Wednesday of next week," said Melodie Gondek, OSSTF – Ottawa Carleton District President. Gondek says the union is waiting for more information from the school board and the province.

Etches says Ottawa Public Health will follow the provincial directives to make PCR home test kits available in schools for symptomatic elementary and secondary students and staff who become symptomatic at work.

"We will be looking for patterns and monitoring what is happening across the school-aged population that is being tested with PCR tests. We will be looking and monitoring," said Etches, adding OPH will inform the community about the situation.

The medical officer of health has some advice for parents ahead of the return to school on Monday.

"Before heading out the door to school, what I would like to see all families do is use the provincial screening tool online. It asks children if they have any risk factors for being positive COVID and any symptoms that could be COVID."

The Ottawa Catholic School Board says it has received 201,000 N95 masks for all staff, and 120,000 three-ply masks will be available for students.