CLASS RULES

Province introduces new guidelines for close contact identification and management protocols in schools

Schools will be reporting and recording COVID cases and outbreaks differently from now on.

Dr. Brent Roussin, chief provincial public health officer, outlined new guidelines for revised close contact identification and management protocols in schools to reduce the need for self-isolation of students and staff.

“We cannot say there is zero risk for kids from COVID-19 ... but we need to balance that risk of COVID with the risk of isolation that has played on the mental and physical well-being of children,” he said.

Public health will now consider vaccination status and the use of medical or non-medical masks when assessing risk and determining self-isolation requirements for close contacts.

Mask considerations will further look at how much time is being granted for mask breaks, though there are times when not wearing a mask is necessary, like at lunch.

The changes will better align the policy with health orders for close contacts, reducing days in isolation from 14-10 with testing recommended at day seven.

The definition of an outbreak is also changing to include at least three school-associated cases identified with 14 days of each other in students, teachers or staff within a specified cohort. The more structured definition of an outbreak will allow for more consistent reporting of outbreaks.

Roussin said last year it was rare for there to be more than two cases within a cohort. He noted a case in school does not mean the case was acquired or transmitted in school.

Public health also said they would provide support to the principals who the last two years shouldered the responsibility for much of the contact tracing. These updates and step-by-step procedures have been included in the Toolkit for Notification of Cases in Schools provided to principals and divisions.

“It puts an awful lot of work on the shoulders of the school principal,” said James Bedford, president of the Manitoba Teachers Society. “We saw this last year with the reporting that was required and school principals were effectively doing the work of contact tracers.”

School leaders will continue to provide information about a case, preventative measures in place and close contacts to support schools in intervening as soon as possible.

The province's top doc said more studies have been conducted showing the impacts on the mental health of students and staff members when the schools are shut down.

It is their objective to balance the risks of opening or closing schools even temporarily — with recent studies still showing younger people are less likely to acquire severe forms of COVID-19 than older individuals.

The province has made several funding announcements through the summer for mental health supports in school.

Bedford said it was too early to tell if those funds were having the desired impact, but that it was important that the province had prioritized mental health.

Manitoba NDP education critic Nello Altomare said the plan should have been in place before the school year started.

“Parents and school staff have been waiting months for answers on outbreaks in schools, but the PCS let them down,” he said in an emailed statement. “To get this information 10 days into the school year will create more chaos and uncertainty for school staff and families.”