Teachers call for school closures and more testing

BY PAUL JUNOR

As the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise in Toronto schools, with seven schools being closed until January, Toronto teachers have raised the alarm. The enforcement of stricter student screening protocol since December 7^th, 2020 and increased asymptomatic testing are slowly being seen across Toronto schools.

On December 9^th, 2020, the Ontario Secondary Teachers Federation (OSSTF), which represents approximately 55,000 education workers, sent an open letter to the provincial government and Toronto Public Health.

The letter calls for, “Extended asymptomatic COVID-19 testing and for schools to remain closed for the first two weeks of January.”

The letter presented by OSSTF has the signatures of diverse presidents of teachers’ unions and it is making a request for the government and health experts to close all schools. In addition, they want students to be completely online commencing, January 4^th, 2021. The letter was sent to: the Minister of Health, Christine Elliot, Stephen Leece, Minister of Education, Dr.Eileen deVilla, Toronto’s Medical Officer of Heath to Dr.Kathy Wilterow, Interim Director of TDSB, as well Alexander Brown, Chair of TDSB.

In the open letter which address the asymptomatic testing in school, it states,

“The current pilot project of school-based voluntary COVID-19 testing for asymptomatic cases has focused and clarified the COVID-19 produced in some select schools in Toronto, resulting in the closure of two Toronto District School Board elementary schools to date. On behalf of all teachers and education workers at the TDSB, we are calling on the Ontario Ministry of Education and Health, Toronto Public Health and the Toronto District School Board to extend this pilot project in order to assess the prevalence of asymptomatic COVID-19 cases in schools across the city on a regular and on-going basis “

There is a sense of urgency in the letter as it is borne out of genuine concerns for the health and safety of those who work in the Toronto public school system. It states that despite Premier Ford’s public utterances that he is willing to go to any ends to combat the pandemic, he has:

• Refused to provide adequate funding to reduce elementary school classes to a accomplish safe physical distancing
• Refused to provide timely or adequate funding for the upgrade of school air exchange systems
• Provided adequate resources for contact tracing

The letter is clear on what it wants from the respective authorities. It notes that,

“Public Health spokesperson referred to the current-recording setting numbers of positive COVID-19 tests as the ‘Thanksgiving effect.’ We want you to ensure that schools cannot contribute to a similar surge effect of positive cases after the winter holiday. For this reason, we are calling for these actions to protect the health of: teachers, education workers, our students, their families and the community at large, and to provide access to data on asymptomatic case transmission within schools. Teachers, education workers, and families deserve to have a race-based understanding of how healthy schools are.”

There has been no official response from the designated individuals with respect to the letter. Premier Ford has hinted that schools may be closed for two weeks after the Christmas break. At present, twenty schools are shut due to a positive outbreak.

Immediate action is required on the part of the provincial government to deal with these burgeoning numbers. Many are optimistic that the government will do the right thing.