Starting today close contact identification and management protocols in schools are changing.
In the school setting, public health officials will consider vaccination status and consistent medical or non-medical mask use when assessing risk and determining isolation requirements for close contacts.
Self-isolation requirements for close contacts are being reduced to 10 days from 14 days, and testing is recommended at day seven.
Chief Provincial Public Health Officer Dr. Brent Roussin says that COVID-19 school outbreaks are being redefined.
“An outbreak will include at least three school-associated cases identified within a 14 day period in students teachers or staff within a specified cohort. The cases will have to be assessed as potentially acquired in school, and linked to a known case in the school setting or a school-sanctioned extracurricular activity.”
These changes are meant to keep students in school as much as possible while implementing measures to reduce COVID-19 transmission.
