TORONTO – When the school year resumes Ontario will allow students to participate in “close indoor sports” such as basketball and hockey, and the province does not yet plan to impose COVID-19 vaccinations for educators, staff or students. The Minister of Education of Ontario Stephen Lecce reiterated this today during a press conference: the provincial government will continue to support its immunization campaign, he said, but the mandatory “at the moment” is not taken into account. 

Dr Kieran Moore, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, said he would like to see up to 90% of eligible provincial residents fully vaccinated. Until today, more than 70 people aged 12 years and over received the two doses, while more than 80% had at least one dose. Moore also stressed that vaccinations are “critical to maintaining a low community infection rate, which in turn will keep schools safe.”

The day after launching the guidelines for the return to school that will take place in just over a month, Minister Lecce announced the allocation of 25 million dollars to ensure that before the start of the school year all kindergarten classes and other “learning spaces” – such as libraries and gyms – that do not have mechanical ventilation (think of HVAC systems) are equipped with high-efficiency particulate filters (HEPA).

An efficient ventilation system, in essence, is one of the priorities in view of the return of the children to school in September. But while Lecce announces the allocation of money, it will be the school boards who will have to ensure not only the ventilation of the classrooms but also the screening, the cleaning of the buildings, to ensure that the guidelines are respected, which in some places leave much to be desired.

Lecce and Moore wanted to make it clear that unvaccinated students will not be discriminated against in any way: “I do not foresee a different approach regarding any activity in the school environment, regardless of whether a child is vaccinated or not vaccinated – said Moore – school staff will not be told which students are or are not vaccinated. We will not be aware of their immune status and there should be no barriers or stigmatization of children who have not received a vaccine in any way”.

Moore, who said the government is still working to finalize its Covid-19 epidemic management plan: he had previously suggested that unvaccinated students may have to isolate themselves for a longer period if exposed to the disease. It is not clear, however, whether this will still be part of the plan: the government has said that the decision “will come soon”. What the Chief Medical Officer of Health said last week may not correspond to the government’s decision.

(photo from pixabay.com)