The N95 masks promised to teachers from the province have arrived for local schools, but HEPA filters haven’t been delivered, and teacher’s unions argue it will take more to make the classrooms safe.
Both the Simcoe County District School Board and the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board have confirmed the first shipment of N95 masks have arrived and have been delivered to local schools.
Public board chair Jodi Lloyd, trustee for Orillia, Ramara, and Severn, said the non-fit-tested N95 masks will be part of the board’s regular PPE orders going forward and teachers will have the option of wearing an N95 or a surgical mask while at school.
The public board is also supposed to receive about 60 HEPA filters, but they haven’t arrived.
The Catholic board confirmed the masks are in, but the 35 HEPA filters promised to them from the 3,000 being delivered by the province haven’t come in yet.
Pauline Stevenson, spokesperson for the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board, said the board hasn’t been told when they might arrive.
Even with the new shipment of filters, Lloyd said there won’t be a HEPA filter for every classroom.
The provincial return-to-class guidelines from September 2021 required a HEPA filter in every kindergarten classroom.
Lloyd said there is now mechanical air-exchange ventilation for every classroom in the Simcoe County District School Board and they’re using the best quality filters they can get.
Sarah Kekewich, spokesperson for the public school board, said the ventilation systems in its schools meet or exceed ministry standards, and are just one part of the overall COVID-19 mitigation strategy.
The teachers’ unions, however, say more needs to be done.
After a government insider confirmed to news media on Jan. 10 that in-person learning would resume on Jan. 17, the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) issued a press release noting they were irked to hear the news from reporters on social media instead of through consultation with the government.
The last official provincial announcement on the matter indicated class would be virtual until “at least” Jan. 17.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce is expected to announce the return to in-person learning at a news conference Wednesday.
“We’re left asking, once again, what has been done to ensure in-person learning can return safely and sustainably, and why isn’t the Ford government consulting with ETFO or sharing its plans with us directly?” asked ETFO president Karen Brown in the news release.
Jen Hare, president of the Simcoe district for the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation, also referred to the current situation as a “failure in leadership,” as a “confirmed rumour” came in place of a “proper announcement.”
“Nothing has been put in place in the last week to make schools safer other than an offer of an N95 mask for those who choose to wear them,” said Hare.
She pointed out that some of the proactive measures used before the winter break, such as reporting school cases and contact tracing, have been taken out of the equation.
Ontario-wide, the practice of reporting school cases has ceased and will not resume with in-person learning. In part, this change is being made because not everyone can get a PCR test now, and so cases will not always be confirmed through testing.
As a result, children who come in contact with someone with COVID may not be informed.
Those who experience symptoms of illness, whether teachers or students, are being told to isolate as if they have COVID. Anyone who gets a positive result on a rapid test should also assume they have COVID and won’t need a PCR test to confirm.
The ETFO and the Ontario English Catholic Teacher’s Association (elementary and secondary unions) are calling for a “safe return” to school that includes a return to monitoring and reporting school cases, as well as HEPA filters in all classrooms.
The unions also want to see stronger mask mandates for students and teachers with better guidelines for improving compliance, and good access to rapid antigen tests for all school staff and students.
Dr. Charles Gardner, medical officer of health for the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit, said on Jan. 5 he thought a Jan. 17 reopening of in-person classrooms might be difficult if case counts continue to rise.
“We would be supportive of them doing all that they can and all that we can to enable it,” said Gardner. “To me, it’s always been very important that schools be open across the province. Medical officers of health are very supportive of in-class education for the physical and mental well-being of children for their ongoing education.”
He confirmed the health unit would not have detailed data about school cases and outbreaks to report publicly.
“I would say that schools are probably safer than most other settings where children might end up being because of all the measures that they’ve put in place, but I wouldn’t be able to guarantee that they would be completely free of transmission,” said Gardner.
