What needs to happen to safely reopen schools after the holidays?

As COVID-19 case numbers continue to climb ahead of the holidays, teachers, students and parents alike are waiting with bated breath to see whether schools will reopen as scheduled in the new year.

There are a few things that can be done to ensure schools reopen safely after holiday break, Dr. Anna Banerji, an infectious disease specialist at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, told CTV’s Your Morning on Monday.

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Here’s a closer look at some of the measures that can be taken to ensure the classroom is as safe as possible.

WHAT CAN BE DONE BEFORE SCHOOL RETURNS?

Banerji said right now, people should be staying at home and limiting their contacts as much as they can.

“Anything that you don’t absolutely have to do, don’t do it,” she said.

People should also be “updating” their masks and face coverings, Banerji said, to ensure they are in line with the most recent guidance.

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) website says masks should fit well, have multiple layers including at least two layers of “breathable, tightly woven fabric, such as cotton” and have an “effective middle filter layer.”

Banerji also said anyone who isn’t vaccinated, should get their shot as soon as possible.

“I just think that the best way to prevent COVID from spreading is not give it the ability to jump from person to person,” she said.

WHAT CAN SCHOOLS DO?

While students are at home for the holidays, a few changes can be made in classrooms to make them safer, Banerji said.

She said the ventilation in schools should be improved, and class sizes should be limited.

“Which, in many places hasn’t happened,” she said.

She said making sure children have proper masks when they return to the classroom is also important.

“Because we're thinking more and more that it's airborne,” she said.

What’s more, Banerji said creating school-based vaccination clinics would be useful, especially if the interval between first and second doses for children is made shorter.

She said running vaccination clinics out of, for example, a school’s gymnasium would “enable people to get vaccinated easier,” and would allow for more children to get their shot.

WILL KIDS GO BACK TO SCHOOL?

Asked whether she thinks children will return to school after the holidays, as scheduled, Banerji said she doesn’t think so, at least not immediately.

“I think that if you look at last year, there was a surge right after the holidays, because people did get together, [and] you saw this big bump one to two weeks after the holidays,” she said.

Banerji said she “wouldn’t be surprised” if there was one- or two-week delay, to make sure if children were exposed, that they don’t have any symptoms and aren’t infectious before returning to the classroom.

Further, Banerji said you “want the [case] numbers to be down.”

“So it depends on what the numbers are doing,” she said. “If we’re still going up, then it’s not a really good time to send kids back to school.”

On Sunday, a total of 8,746 new COVID-19 cases were detected, with only six provinces reporting data.