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.
Students arrived at the West Pender campus of University Canada West last week to find the doors locked. A notice explained that the building was being sanitized. A media release on its website said the move was a ‘proactive, precautionary’ measure after the school learned a student had a a presumptive case of the disease caused by a novel coronavirus. (Ken Leedham/CBC News)
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 if a case emerges in a Canadian school?
At the very least, all students in class of an affected student or teacher would be self-quarantined at their homes, said Colin Furness, an assistant professor with the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information.
However, it’s also possible that the whole school would be closed and all students and staff tested, said Stephen Hoption Cann, a professor at the University of B.C.’s School of Population & Public Health.
“Any environment where there is a high density of individuals is conducive to the spread of the virus,” he said.
Who would make the call to close the school?
The decision to close an entire school would likely be a co-ordinated effort with local and provincial officials, school boards and health officials, Furness said.
What kind of problems can school closures lead to?
While closing a school would certainly interfere with students’ eduction, it would also have social and economic impacts.
PHAC acknowledged that a school closure would lead to significant consequences for certain groups, such as single parents and caregivers, children who participate in school-based nutrition programs, families who cannot afford increased child care costs, and parents without flexible work arrangements or paid leave benefits.
Could classes continue?
Remote learning is always a possibility. In Miami-Dade County, Fla., for example, the district has provided laptops, tablets and smartphones for some students to take home in preparation for any potential outbreak. It is also providing internet connectivity for some low-income students, the New York Times reported.
The University of Toronto and the University of British Columbia are developing contingency plans to hold lectures via video conference and administer exams remotely, the Globe and Mail reported.
Still, organizing the teaching of classes in elementary and secondary schools could be a challenge.
Is closing a school a good way to contain the virus?
In Japan, schools have been shutdown nationwide. But some experts are questioning the effectiveness of this strategy to contain the spread of coronavirus.
“As the largest groups of people the disease affects are in their 50s or 60s, closing elementary, middle and high schools doesn’t make much sense from a public health perspective,” Reiko Saito, a professor at Niigata University’s Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, said in an email to the Japan Times.
A report by the Centre for Global Development said that a review of 79 papers on school closures during influenza pandemics shows that there is no consistent effect of closing schools as a strategy to contain epidemics.
The CGD also said that if schools are closed, contact between children outside of school needs to be limited too. Otherwise, the benefits of school closure will be greatly reduced.
How long should a school be closed?
In 2012, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh looked at data from the 2009 H1N1 outbreak and its transmission to try to figure out the best amount of time for schools to close in the case of an outbreak.
A pedestrian wears a protective mask as she walks in the winter weather downtown in Toronto on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020. One expert says if schools are closed because of coronavirus, it’s imperative that young students do not socialize in other settings face to face. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press)
“What we found was the optimal timing is eight weeks from a disease transmission” standpoint, Tina Batra Hershey, an assistant professor in Pitt’s graduate school of public health, recently told the Baltimore Sun.
Opening schools too soon might leave students vulnerable to infection. But the same model might not follow for this outbreak, she told the Sun, and it should be left to local school systems to decide.
Would it ever make sense to close all schools across the country?
Furness said he believes that would “wildly inappropriate,” in part because of the economic cost.
“I think you need to do it locally where it’s emerging,” he said.
“I think if there is a case in Scarborough, I would close schools in that area, in that neighborhood, in that region. I don’t even think I would do that. I wouldn’t do the whole [Greater Toronto Area.]
“I would wait for a second case and then see where it’s spreading.”
HOUSTON (AP) — Brian White scored in the second half to rally the Vancouver Whitecaps to a 1-1 draw with the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday night.
Houston (12-9-8) took a 1-0 lead into halftime after Ezequiel Ponce scored on a penalty kick in the seventh minute of stoppage time. Ponce’s third goal this season came after Amine Bassi drew a foul on Whitecaps midfielder Pedro Vite following a video review. It was Ponce’s sixth career appearance, all starts.
Vancouver (13-8-7) scored the equalizer in the 73rd minute when White, who entered in the 60th, used assists from Fafá Picault and Ryan Gauld to find the net for the 13th time this season. Picault’s assist was his fifth, matching his career high for a single season. Gauld’s assist gives him a career-best 13 on the season.
Yohei Takaoka, who had clean sheets in his last three starts, finished with one save in goal for the Whitecaps.
Steve Clark saved three shots for the Dynamo, who remain one point behind Vancouver in the Western Conference standings.
Houston, which was coming off a 4-1 victory over Real Salt Lake, has allowed just 33 goals this season.
Vancouver — 6-2-2 in its last 10 matches overall — leads the all-time series 10-9-6.
The Whitecaps remain on the road to play the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday. The Dynamo travel to play Austin FC on Saturday.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Tom Pearce and Nathan Saliba scored in the second half — the first goals of their careers — and CF Montreal rallied for a 2-2 draw with the New England Revolution on Wednesday night.
“In the second half, the guys came out a little more ambitious and above all, more connected,” Montreal head coach Laurent Courtois said. “It was a great second half of resilience and fighting spirit. Nathan and Sam were impressive.
“Impressive in covering the gaps and compensating for the teammates, and the individual defending – yes it’s true, it is a lot of weight on their shoulders, but that’s the job.”
New England (8-16-4) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 24th minute on Bobby Wood’s third goal of the season. Teenage defender Peyton Miller notched his first assist in his fourth career start and sixth appearance and Carles Gil picked up his ninth of the season. Peyton, at 16 years, 315 days old, is the eighth youngest player in league history to record his first assist.
The Revolution took a two-goal lead in the 35th minute and held it through halftime when 19-year-old Esmir Bajraktarevic took a pass from Gil and scored his third goal of the season and career in his first full season in the league. It was the 73rd regular-season assist in Gil’s career, tying him with Steve Ralston for the most in club history.
Montreal (7-12-10) pulled within a goal in the 54th minute when Pearce scored off a free kick after defender George Campbell drew a foul on New England’s Mark-Anthony Kaye. It was the first goal for Pearce in his third career start and fourth appearance.
“Playoffs are the goal. Maybe it wasn’t in the best form, but in the end, we are picking up a point,” Pearce said. “We came into this game confident, ready to play our own game. Everyone tries their best, whenever the players are called on, we are always ready, and we are always giving it our best.”
Montreal scored the equalizer in the 68th minute on the first career goal by Saliba, a 20-year-old midfielder. Saliba has made 34 starts and 48 appearances with Montreal in his two seasons in the league. Campbell snagged his second assist of the season and the third of his career.
“It’s an incredible feeling, it’s a goal I’ve been waiting for a long time. I’m extremely happy that I was able to score it and that it can help the team take this important point on the road,” Saliba said. “Pearce’s first goal gave us really good momentum and we kept up the pressure to go for a second goal. We got more solid defensively, and we came back ready after halftime, to push for these 3 points.”
Aljaz Ivacic finished with four saves in goal for the Revolution.
Jonathan Sirois stopped four shots for Montreal.
New England beat Montreal 5-0 on the road on Aug. 24.
New England leads the all-time series 16-13-4. Montreal improves to 5-8-2 on the road against the Revs.
The Revolution travel to take on Charlotte FC on Saturday. Montreal returns home to host the Chicago Fire on Saturday.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Adolis García hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning, Cody Bradford pitched seven strong innings after the worst start of his career, and the Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 2-0 on Wednesday night.
The win kept the defending World Series-champion Rangers alive in the AL West race, trailing first-place Houston by 10 games with 10 to play.
García launched an inside sinker over the left-field wall off Toronto starter Bowden Francis (8-5) after Wyatt Langford singled.
“He swings hard, he swings a lot,” Francis said of García. “I guess the velo was dropping during that time.”
Bradford (6-3) allowed five hits and no walks while striking out six.
The seven shutout innings are the most in a game during his two-year career. He was knocked out of his previous start after allowing career highs in hits (nine), runs (eight) and homers (three) in 3 2/3 innings in a 14-4 loss at Arizona.
“Throughout the week, you’ve got to try and digest what happened, see where I can make adjustments, whether it was just game plan went wrong or just poor execution, or a little bit of both,” Bradford said. “Then you flush it.”
Bradford was perfect through four innings before Alejandro Kirk opened the fifth with a smash back to the mound that caromed off Bradford’s left foot and rolled into right field for a single. It extended Kirk’s hitting streak to a career-high 12 games.
Spencer Horwitz’s double to left-center put runners on second and third with no outs before Bradford retired the next three batters.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider credited Bradford’s “deceptive fastball.”
“When you’re throwing 89, 92, you’ve got to have pretty good deception with that at this level,” Schneider said. “Kept us off balance.”
Kirby Yates pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 31st save in 32 opportunities.
Francis, who took no-hitters into the ninth inning in two of his previous four starts, allowed a double to Marcus Semien, the Rangers’ first hitter of the game. He gave up five hits and one walk in six innings.
Francis has a 1.96 ERA in nine starts with 54 strikeouts and seven walks since being moved back into the starting rotation in late July.
“I don’t even want to get complacent, on cruise control,” Francis said. “Just keep attacking.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Blue Jays: SS Bo Bichette was a late scratch with a right middle finger contusion suffered during infield practice. Schneider said the team will get back x-rays on Thursday. Bichette was activated Tuesday following a calf injury and played for the first time in two months, going 2 for 5 with one RBI at the plate. … INF Will Wagner (left knee inflammation) will have the knee scoped on Thursday. Schneider said Wagner should be ready to start spring training. Wagner, son of former major leaguer Billy Wagner, was acquired from Houston at the trade deadline.
UP NEXT
Rangers rookie RHP Kumar Rocker (0-0, 2.25 ERA) will make his home debut against Blue Jays RHP Kevin Gausman (12-11, 4.02) in the series finale. Rocker allowed one run in four innings at Seattle last Thursday in his major league debut.
