No cases of the coronavirus have yet emerged in elementary or secondary schools in Canada, but it’s certainly possible that a student or teacher could become infected. CBC News looks at the ramifications if a case of COVID-19 materializes in a Canadian school.
In Canada, no cases of the coronavirus have yet emerged in elementary or secondary schools, but the virus has still impacted the lives of students.
A number of school boards have cancelled class trips abroad and it’s certainly possible that a student, or teacher, could become infected at some point during this crisis.
Virus transmission in the school setting “is amplified” because young students are generally less compliant with effective hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette practices, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada‘s website.
Also, they socialize with each other in a way that is likely to increase transmission, the website said.
CBC News looks at the ramifications if a case of the novel coronavirus materializes in a school.
How have other jurisdictions internationally reacted to the virus with regards to schools?
A recent report by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said that schools have been closed in 13 countries to contain the spread of COVID-19, affecting more than 290 million students around the world.
“While temporary school closures as a result of health and other crises are not new unfortunately, the global scale and speed of the current educational disruption is unparalleled and, if prolonged, could threaten the right to education,” UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay said in a statement.
What about Canada?
There is no widespread transmission of the disease in Canada, so PHAC has not recommended the closures of Canadian schools.
A presumptive case of COVID-19 did prompt the closure of a business school in downtown Vancouver for at least three days while the building is disinfected, the school said Thursday.
And students from Sussex Regional High School in New Brunswick, who visited Italy this week, have been ordered to avoid returning to school for two weeks after their scheduled return home Saturday.
What’s likely to happen