The Northwestern Health Unit has voiced its support for a provincial return to in-school learning next week.
NWHU medical officer of health Dr. Kit Young Hoon said in a statement Friday she “fully supports” the decision to return to school on Jan. 17, announced by the province Wednesday.
“The benefits of in-person learning far outweigh the risks at a population level,” she said. “Although the Omicron variant is highly transmissible, the risk of serious illness and hospitalization is not high in our school-aged population.”
She joins colleague Dr. Janet DeMille, medical officer of health in the neighbouring Thunder Bay District Health Unit, in endorsing the move as safe.
Young Hoon had also said she believed schools could stay open in the days before the province moved to online learning on Jan. 6.
She emphasized the importance of using the province’s updated school screening tool every day before sending students to school.
“Not every symptom requires a full isolation period or isolation of family members,” she said. “It is important to read the instructions carefully if you fail the screen.”
While the risks to students may be small, it doesn’t necessarily mean the return to school will go smoothly.
Lakehead Public Schools has warned parents to expect school closures, saying Omicron could cause “unmanageable” staff shortages.
Under the government’s new testing rules, PCR testing will not be widely available to schools, which will also no longer need to report cases to the government. An outbreak won’t be declared until there is a 30 per cent absentee rate at schools.
When that threshold is hit, the health unit said it will notify guardians and staff at the school, and work with the school to ensure infection prevention and control procedures are in place.
Young Hoon also urged guardians of school-aged children to get them vaccinated.
Nearly 50 per cent of children aged 5 to 11 in the NWHU have received at least a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, slightly behind the TBDHU rate.
Teachers’ unions have criticized the Ford government for refusing to shrink class sizes or add COVID-19 vaccines to the list of required immunizations for students. The province belatedly moved on other steps the unions have long requested, like vaccine clinics at schools and N95 masks for teachers, in recent weeks.
