Oral swabs are less favourable due to their lower sensitivity in comparison to nasal or deep nasal specimen collection. Hence, false negative rates would be considerably higher. As a corollary, if oral swabs were used for all test subjects, there would be a far higher number of true positive COVID-19 cases compared to test-confirmed positive cases. This obviously has numerous adverse consequences – most notably of which being infected, infectious individuals unknowingly spreading the disease due to falsely negative test results. For more information on COVID-19 testing, please refer to Public Health Ontario’s COVID-19 Laboratory Testing Q&A’s document, seen here

Please refer to the Enhanced Cleaning and Disinfection section of the OCDSB’s Health, Safety and Well-Being page, visible here, for information on cleaning and sanitation protocol. According to the OCDSB, enhanced cleaning and disinfection protocols will be followed in all schools and work locations with special attention paid to high-traffic surfaces. Only approved cleaners and disinfectants will be used, and cleaning staff will receive special training on cleaning and disinfecting practices.

According to the OCDSB, there may be designated points where a requested change from online to in class or vice versa can be implemented. The timing of requests for change will have to be considered relative to assessment periods, semesters, class size, and available staff. Work with the Ministry is underway to better understand how to support change requests. For more details, please explore the OCDSB’s Frequently Asked Questions page, visible here

According to the OCDSB, provincial guidance is being provided on case management and contact tracing, as well as outbreak protocols. In the event of confirmed cases, Ottawa Public Health will investigate specific situations, identifying close contacts of those involved. They could then direct some or all students in a class or in a school to stay at home. In this situation, a transition to remote learning for that group of students would be made until they can return to school. For more information, please refer to the OCDSB’s Frequently Asked Questions, visible here

According to the OCDSB, secondary students’ direct and indirect contacts should be limited to no more than 100, and elementary students’ direct and indirect contacts should be limited to no more than 50. For more information on cohorting, please refer to the OCDSB’s Health, Safety and Well-Being page, seen here

When students are unregistered and truly homeschooled, funding is taken away from schools, creating more inequity. Schools will be re-shuffled and teachers would become surplus if enough families unregister their children. Taking advantage of remote learning, however, keeps the funding in place.

According to the OCDSB, secondary students’ direct and indirect contacts are to be limited to a maximum 100, and elementary students’ direct and indirect contacts are to be limited to a maximum of 50. Read more about cohorting guidelines on the OCDSB’s Health, Safety and Well-Being page, visible here

According to the OCDSB, all students in grade 4 to 12 and required to wear a mask or face covering at all times during the school day, and students in grades K-3 may also wear a mask or face covering based on parental choice. As well, all school based staff will be provided with medical/procedural masks which are required to be worn at all times while at work. Mask use has been employed as a supplement to physical distancing to maximize safety. To read more about mask use guidelines in schools, please refer to the OCDSB’s Health, Safety and Well-Being page, seen here

According to Public Health Ontario, as of May 23, 2020, their laboratory has detected a false positivity rate of less than 0.01% (specificity of >99.99%). False negatives are more concerning. Studies have found the test’s sensitivity (true positive rate) to measure between 70% and 90%. Hence, a 10-30% false negative rate has been estimated based on preliminary research. Read more on COVID-19 laboratory testing in Public Health Ontario’s COVID-19 Laboratory Testing Q&A article, seen here

It is commonly stated that a rough estimate for the maximum amount of time that a mask should be worn is 8 hours. Re-use of masks is not recommended. As such, if the mask is removed, it could be beneficial to provide a mask for the student to change into part way through the day. For more recommendations on mask use, please see the World Health Organization’s Advice on the use of masks in the context of COVID-19, seen here

According to the OCDSB, parents/guardians will be asked to screen their child daily for any symptoms of cold, flu, or other symptoms that may be associated with COVID-19, prior to sending them to school using the COVID-19 Self-Assessment, and parents/guardians will be asked to keep their child home if they exhibit an signs of illness, but district staff will not be responsible for screening students for illness (e.g. temperature checks).

If a student becomes ill during the day and/or if they exhibit signs of illness, the parent or guardian will be contacted immediately to pick them up. Each school should designate an isolation room/area for use if a student becomes ill during the school day, where they can wait (with appropriate supervision) until such time as they can be picked up. The student should be kept home until they are symptom-free for a minimum of 24 hours or they are able to provide a medical note indicating that they can return to school. If a staff member is concerned that a student is exhibiting signs of illness, this will be reported to the school administration for follow up. If a student voluntarily shares that they or a member of their family has COVID-19 symptoms or a positive test, this information will also be shared with the school administrator.

For more details, please see the OCDSB’s Health, Safety and Well-Being page, visible here

According to the OCDSB, while playground equipment will remain closed pending further direction from Ottawa Public Health, and students will be discouraged from engaging in games or activities that require close proximity or promote multiple touch points, physical activity will be facilitated by two scheduled recesses. Also, increased outdoor learning for students will be encouraged, and outdoor physical education will continue. Read more about this and other similar topics in the OCDSB’s Frequently Asked Questions page, seen here