Toronto East School Support (TESS) (Mar 30)
COVID-19 Support for Toronto East Schools Discussion
Forum (TESS) – March 30, 2021
To support Toronto East schools during the COVID-19 pandemic, East Toronto Family Practice Network (EasT-FPN), in collaboration with Michael Garron Hospital’s Dr. Janine McCready - Infectious Disease Physician, hosts a virtual Toronto East Schools Support (TESS) Q+A Forum, to provide school support and recommendations. Join us monthly. Get additional practice support and strengthen East Toronto, by becoming a member of the EasT-FPN.
Key Updates & Summary of Mar 30/2021 Discussion
Q: Can you please provide an update about vaccines for education staff in Toronto? When can we expect to receive a vaccine? Are there any plans to vaccinate staff at their school locations?
A: We have been advocating a lot to have a dedicated strategy to vaccinate teachers. We have been having conversations to arrange vaccinating staff at schools and are hoping to get vaccines into all educators as soon as possible.
Q: We keep seeing the numbers rise due to variants, particularly amongst young people, yet there is no plan to vaccinate them. Why is this so? I have a teenager with Type 1 Diabetes who can not get vaccinated. Are there any plans to organize vaccine administration for teenagers with chronic conditions?
A: Teenagers over 16 will be part of phase 2 in April to June. There will likely be specific guidance from the province on how that will be rolled out. Trials are currently happening for teenagers and kids under 16. It will be seen what dose is needed and what the side effects are. Hopefully, by late fall there will be more vaccines available for kids if trials go well.
Q: What happens if a student is vaccinated, but exhibited or exhibits symptoms listed on the self-assessment tool? Are the isolate/get tested requirements still the same regardless of being vaccinated? For example, a student was sent home with symptoms, but is being vaccinated shortly, and their mom is under the impression that he can return once he is vaccinated.
A: Most students right now will not be able to get vaccinated. There have been no changes for those who have symptoms and have been vaccinated. The vaccine still protects people in getting symptoms, but they can still transmit it to others.
Q: What is the suggestion or recommendations for teachers surrounding the handing out and collection of papers in the classroom? For example, handing out tests and quizzes.
A: You will not get COVID-19 through your skin if you are touching something that other people have handled. It is recommended to wash your hands right after. For surfaces, we do not have definite answers for how long things live on surfaces. It is still recommended to wash your hands.
Q: Does wearing the shield, in conjunction with the face mask, provide significantly more protection for the wearer?
A: Yes, if anyone is teaching in person they should wear both a mask and a face shield.
Q: From my understanding, Toronto Public Health's guidance states that faculty are able to take mask breaks in their office with the door closed. However, some administrators have been spending time in their offices without a mask and their doors open for long periods of time. Any recommendations for addressing this issue in our workplace?
A: It is always important to wear your mask and keep distance if someone is around you. If there are specific concerns, ask the health and safety workers for your area.
Q: Thorncliffe Park Public School has 3 covid cases with variants, one outbreak and many unsolved cases, how come this school has not been closed yet?
A: The school just got closed. The investigation is important for the details about the cases. Toronto Public Health does a thorough investigation if transmission is in the school. Schools are closed if there is ongoing spread, but are not done lightly and only after consultation.
Q: Increasingly, parents have called us after they have kept their students home after hearing about a "close contact" exposure for COVID-19. I am told the parent provides information that will be used to determine if the case was a "close contact" or not. Is this correct, or who should be making this determination?
A: Toronto Public Health determines who is considered as close contact. A student in the same class is deemed as a close contact. Toronto Public Health would choose who is required to isolate.
Q: We are hearing cases of "asymptomatic" individuals who test positive for the COVID-19 virus. These cases are reported to us by parents of students, and shared with Toronto Public Health, but is there any additional messaging we should be giving to parents surrounding asymptomatic cases?
A: We should reinforce that children can have mild symptoms or be asymptomatic. When there is school wide testing, they should take advantage of those opportunities to check especially for close contacts it can spread to.
Q: What can a COVID-19 patient suffering from shortness of breath do to increase their oxygen levels and minimize lung inflammation at home after returning from the hospital?
A: It can last weeks or months. It can be from any activity, so they should rebuild exercise tolerance and slowly increase it. Sometimes puffers will help, but they should talk to their individual doctors.
Q: Should students be wearing face shields and eye protection?
A: It depends on their age and their ability to wear them properly. If they can wear eye protection and are older, it may be reasonable to do. The risk for kids getting severe illness is low, but if a vulnerable person is in their household it will provide them protection. The implementation of this gear is harder.
Q: How can we avoid face shields from fogging up?
A: The fit of the mask is important. It should be tucked so air is not coming through to fog up.
Q: What is the recommendation around double masking?
A: It will not provide extra protection and one mask is enough. If you are wearing two masks, wear the surgical mask underneath and the cloth mask on top. If it is too warm, it is probably a good idea to not wear a second layer on top.
Q: Does Toronto Public Health declare an outbreak in an apartment building if two or more cases from a school are linked to that particular building? Would it not be prudent to notify everyone in the apartment building of the spread that is happening at that location?
A: If larger portions of a school live in the same apartment building and there is an outbreak at the school, we are looking for links to the apartment. We are looking for potential spread of an apartment outbreak. They will be notified through a tenant association of building management for apartment building testing. We will connect with tenants to inform the local community of risks and potentially conduct building wide testing with our mobile testing.
Q: Can you clarify how long the results of a COVID-19 test are effective? Should students with symptoms that arise after taking the test do a new test?
A: If they have no symptoms and later develop symptoms, they should go to get retested. If they are in a pre-symptomatic period and the test is conducted too soon, it can miss cases. Wait 7-8 days after exposure to do the test for accurate results.
Q: Why do parents not have to show proof of doing a COVID-19 test?
A: Personal health information is required and it is problematic. Consider the options from Toronto Public Health for the return to school.
Q: Is it possible to have stronger language to ensure a student in a household with multiple positive family members gets tested before they return to school?
A: Everything is voluntary and highly recommended. We can not make them get tested but have made it as easy as possible with oral nasal swabs to take home testing kits at schools.
Q: Will the pause on AstraZeneca impact the timing plans for vaccines? Can you elaborate on the health impacts implied by the pause?
A: There are concerns on the safety of AstraZeneca that are rare but possible side effects. They are treatable. We do not know what the formal guidance will be, but hopefully there will be more clarity on this topic in the coming weeks.
Q: There is poor ventilation in most schools. It is almost impossible to keep that distance throughout the day. How safe really are these schools?
A: It is rare to see cases of transmission, but control measures have to be tighter to prevent transmission. We recognize the importance of schools and how to keep them open as safe as possible. Outdoor learning makes things safer right away and ensures students social distance.
Q: Many students will begin to show allergy symptoms as we move into allergy season. What should our protocol be?
A: If they have been tested and there are no changes in symptoms, they do not need to retest. If they start to have more symptoms, they are recommended to get tested again.
Q: I have had parents keeping a sibling home due to an older sibling's class having a positive case. They have asked if the younger sibling can come back to school before the older siblings once they get a negative test result. Can the sibling in my class return to school after a negative COVID-19 test with no symptoms?
A: The advice from Toronto Public Health is if a sibling is exposed, all of their siblings have to stay home for the duration of isolation, regardless of their COVID-19 test results.
Q: Some families are in apartments in which self-isolation of the positive case is not possible at any time during the ten day infectious window. How should they be isolated in these cases?
A: They should isolate for 14 days starting when the infectious person's isolation period ends. Eg. If Bob tests positive on March 1, he is to self-isolate until March 11th. If the family has been in contact this entire time, the families' period starts on March 11th and ends on March 25th.