(Quebec) School principals denounce the fact that the application of health instructions in schools differs from one region to another, which further confuses network staff and parents who are trying to find their way around in this return to class marked by the contagiousness of the Omicron variant.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
Exasperated by the situation during his interview with The Press, the president of the Quebec Federation of Educational Establishment Directors (FQDE), Nicolas Prévost, has a headache. He does not understand why the General Directorate of Public Health struggles to transmit clear directives to its own regional directorates, or why the regional directors of public health interpret the instructions issued by the General Directorate differently.
“There is no cohesion between national public health and regional public health. The national says one thing, and each region interprets it in its own way,” laments Mr. Prévost. Angry, he adds: “Public Health does not respond [à nos questions]. It’s really not easy to follow. »
“I’m even going to go further: she is so insensitive. Despite all the requests for clarification, she does not take them into account. She is above her own business,” says Mr. Prévost.
Complex instructions
The president of the FQDE cites examples to illustrate regional disparities in the application of health instructions. In Montérégie, he says, school principals have been informed that staff no longer have access to PCR screening tests, while teachers elsewhere are invited to go to screening clinics.
In a document titled Instructions applicable in schools in the context of a pandemic (COVID-19), updated on January 16, it is written – as announced by Quebec – that “as of January 15, 2022, school staff will be registered on the priority list allowing access to a PCR screening test “. However, the government website quebec.ca offers different interpretations, depending on the page consulted.
It is, for example, established in the section “Specific directives for the education sector” that school personnel have access to PCR tests. But on Friday, the list of people with priority access to screening tests still indicated that “school staff and those in the various symptomatic childcare settings” had access to these tests “in the absence of rapid tests in the environment”.
When should you self-isolate?
On the isolation of students with symptoms associated with COVID-19, the health instructions are also communicated differently from one region to another, deplore the school principals.
In some areas, students with a symptom may stay in class for the rest of the day if their school rapid detection test is negative. They are then asked to perform another rapid test at home to confirm the result. Elsewhere, however, children are sent home at the slightest symptom.
“It looks like there are no guidelines. We are told to refer to quebec. ca, where all the information is centralized, but the regional public health departments do not seem to refer to it, because we are sent press releases with different approaches, ”denounces Nicolas Prévost.
The president of the FQDE hopes that the government and Public Health will standardize a clear message for all regions of Quebec. “All this hubbub, we would do without. »
Air quality
As a polar cold settles in Quebec, the Minister of Education, Jean-François Roberge, for his part asked school staff on Friday not to open the windows to the detriment of the comfort of the students, and this, even though carbon dioxide (CO2) installed in some classrooms show a measurement higher than the limit set by the government.
On Friday, teachers testified in several media that by opening the window as prescribed to change the air in the room, the mercury dropped sharply in their class.
“Having been a teacher myself, I am aware of the importance of opening the windows in the classrooms, but not to the detriment of the comfort of the students, particularly in very cold weather. You have to look at the big picture. I trust the school staff to follow the reading protocol that has been passed on to them and to think, first and foremost, of the well-being of their students,” the minister said.
Ali Bahloul, researcher specializing in industrial ventilation, indoor air quality and respiratory protection at the Robert-Sauvé Research Institute for Occupational Health and Safety, also specified in a press release from the ministry. of Education that “ventilation is an additional element that helps reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19 in classrooms”.
“In general, ventilation allows air exchange to ensure acceptable air quality. […] It must be used optimally without compromising the thermal comfort (about 20°C) of the occupants. Start by opening the windows before the students arrive and keep the door open at all times. Above all, we must not put students and teachers in a situation of discomfort,” he said.
To date, only 47% of CO readers2 delivered to schools have been installed and calibrated.