New Brunswick must temporarily reinstate COVID-19 measures in schools, including mandatory masks, until it can reconsider its decision to remove them, the provincial children’s and youth advocate recommended in a report released Friday.
The decision-making process itself was “wrong” and needs to be reconsidered, Kelly Lamrock said, refusing to make a recommendation on the measures themselves.
“We do not believe that in an accelerated three-week review, a lawyer can or should take on the role of the last arbitrator of public health records,” he wrote.
“What we can say is that children deserve a decision that explicitly takes into account their rights and needs, reports on each of them with clear and relevant factual findings from the right experts, and is communicated with clarity and accountability by someone responsible. for the results. “
Lamrock recommends that the government return to COVID’s mandate in schools by May 21 and then work quickly to make a final decision that is “properly balanced, researched, communicated and implemented.”
The COVID-19 mandates in schools were abolished on March 14, the day students and teachers returned in the hours after the March holidays. All provincial restrictions on COVID-19 were lifted on the same day as the end of the emergency order.
Lamrock launched an investigation in late March after “several” citizens expressed concern.
In a scathing 23-page report to the Legislative Assembly on Friday, he said there had been “blurred responsibility” for the decision to lift COVID measures in schools, “over-reliance” on the study of other provinces and “inconsistencies” between public advice that vaccines are more effective than masks and “factual evidence” that less than half of children attending school have been vaccinated.
“There are legitimate reasons to consider removing mask mandates,” Lamrock said. But public health needs to reconsider the decision with clear evidence of the factors to be weighed and a plan to monitor student safety and staff absences.
And the Ministry of Education must require school districts to comply with their legal obligations to accommodate students adversely affected by the easing of COVID-19 rules.
Among the other eight recommendations “aimed at improving the safety and quality” of the school environment for children:
- Public health, in consultation with the Ministry of Education, should clarify the health and learning indicators it monitors in order to assess the impact of removing the mask mandate and clearly develop what criteria will lead to a review of the decision.
- Health and education departments should coordinate and issue clear protocols to school leaders about when a student should test, report, or not attend school due to exposure, symptoms, or a positive test.
- Public health must take into account in its recommendations the long-term impact of COVID-19 on young people.
- Public health and education need to develop a strategy, “supported by regulation if necessary”, to increase the low vaccination rate for children aged 5 to 11
- Health and education departments should coordinate and issue a plan to make appropriate rapid tests available to schools
The government is not obliged to implement the recommendations.
The CBC requested a comment from Prime Minister Blaine Higgs’ office, but instead referred to a press conference held by Education Minister Dominic Cardi.
The Ministry of Health also redirected requests for comment to Cardi’s press conference.
Cardi told reporters he would continue to adhere to public health recommendations.
A subsequent joint written statement on behalf of Cardi and Health Minister Dorothy Shepard said their departments would “take into account” all recommendations from Lamrock and the chief auditor in a pending report on the pandemic province’s response. .
The overall high vaccination rate in the province for those most likely to be hospitalized, together with low levels of hospitalization among young people, contributed to the public health decision to remove mandates for public masks and those in the New Brunswick school system. , it says.
Although camouflage provides a layer of protection and public health supports their use, there is currently no evidence that it should become mandatory. – Prime Minister Blaine Higgs
Earlier this week, when asked about Lamrock’s review, the prime minister said the government would continue to follow public health advice, as during the pandemic.
“While camouflage provides a layer of protection and public health supports their use, there is currently no evidence that it should be mandatory when people are fined or unable to attend school because they do not wear one,” Higgs said in a statement. email.
“Learning to live with COVID-19 means empowering ourselves and each other to protect each other from infection.”
Masking can be reintroduced in schools quickly and could affect transmission rates within weeks, said Dr. Alana Newman, a St. John’s neonatologist. (James Arthur Geckier / Belga Mag / AFP / Getty Images)
At least 40 of the province’s 54 active pediatricians have called for the restoration of compulsory universal disguise in schools by the end of the school year.
The liberal MLA at the center of Moncton, Robert McKee, also called on the government to reintroduce mandatory disguise for students and staff at least until the end of April, based on challenges with school staff over his ride and a petition signed by 1,400 people.
All three other Atlantic provinces have extended their mask mandates.
With the end of New Brunswick’s mandatory order, public health guidelines “changed from people wearing a mask in which they can be punished as a fine, to making personal choices based on their personal level of risk,” Higgs said.
This is based on the fact that the province has a “high level” of vaccination, he said.
“Public health can no longer justify recommending that people be fined for not wearing a mask. This guide to public health is also being distributed in schools. “
Decrease in cases under 19 years
Since then, public health has been monitoring cases and risks to “determine if changes are needed,” Higgs said.
“Looking at cases of people under the age of 19, the case peaked in February, when camouflage was still mandatory. There has been an increase in cases where the mandatory order has ended as expected, and COVID cases in this age group have been declining since then. “
In March, parents were advised that it was no longer necessary to inform their child’s school if the test was positive for COVID-19, and the COVID dashboards in the school district were no longer updated.
“We know that there are still absences from schools due to COVID, but there are also absences from schools due to influenza, the Norwalk virus that is circulating, and other reasons,” Higgs said.
Meanwhile, other jurisdictions, including neighboring provinces that have retained mandatory school camouflage, continue to see cases of COVID with a “similar percentage” as New Brunswick, he said.
Vaccination continues to be the best means of protection against COVID, Higgs added, noting that the province encourages everyone to get vaccinated and receive a booster dose as soon as they meet the conditions.
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