The Ontario government has brought forth a plan to target high-risk COVID-19 settings by the way of making rapid antigen screening available to schools, and child care settings by the direction of the local medical officer of health.
This plan will help will protect the students, and children from COVID-19, and the Delta variant.
This plan was announced today (October 4, 2021) by Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Kieran Moore. Moore says that screening and testing remain important tools in protecting the spread of COVID-19.
“It’s (rapid antigen testing) focused on the screening of children in public health units with the highest risk of transmission. Where the risk of transmission is very high and vaccine coverage is low at the community or school level this measure may provide an additional layer of protection for schools and child care centres to minimize the risk of outbreaks and potential closures,” said Moore.
“Expanding access to rapid antigen screening may be another way to help keep schools safer and students in the classroom. I continue to encourage everyone who has yet to get their first or second dose of the COVID-19 vaccination to do so as soon as they can to increase our level of community immunity and protect our students and young Ontarians who are not yet eligible to receive the vaccine,” added Moore.
This program will support access to voluntary rapid asymptomatic screening for unvaccinated children, and students, and also in keeping with current provincial guidance for rapid antigen testing.
Fully vaccinated individuals and children are not recommended to undergo routine rapid antigen screening given the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine as well as the risks posed to the disruption of learning as a result of false positives.
COVID-19 rapid antigen screening for child care and school-age children will proceed as follows:
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Based on the guidance of the Chief Medical Officer of Health, local Medical Officers of Health will continue to monitor local COVID-19 transmission and vaccination rates to identify when to implement rapid antigen screening in parts of their region based on local factors and needs.
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Rapid antigen screening will be used only for unvaccinated asymptomatic students and children who are not high-risk contacts. Symptomatic or high-risk contacts should continue to access lab-based PCR testing available at assessment centres and other collection centres.
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Where the local public health unit has identified schools or child care centres that would benefit from this screening, rapid antigen screening tests will be made available. Parents will be able to choose if their unvaccinated asymptomatic children will participate in this screening offered by their schools or licensed child care settings.
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Unvaccinated children participating in the program will be able to conduct the rapid antigen screening at home with instructions.
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Children who receive a positive result will be required to seek a confirmatory lab-based PCR test at a local assessment centre or specimen collection centre and isolate until the result of that lab-based PCR test is known. Children who receive a negative result on a rapid antigen screening test will be able to continue in-person learning. More detailed information including duration and frequency will follow.
Dr. Kit Young Hoon, Medical Officer of Health for the Northwestern Health Unit commented on whether the health unit will request any rapid antigen screening for the region.
"At this time, we are not planning to use it but may consider it as case investigations continue.” said Young Hoon
In addition, in September 2021, the Ministry of Education launched a targeted, PCR-based self-collection pilot for vaccinated high school students identified as high-risk close contacts of a confirmed case of COVID-19 to support testing participation and a timely return to school.
To date in Ontario 87.2 per cent of residents aged 12 and over have received one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine while 82 per cent are fully immunized. In the Northwestern Health Unit, 87 per cent of the eligible population have gotten their first dose, and 80 per cent are fully vaccinated.