Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer accuses the acting medical officer of the Niagara Region of Health of failing to properly consult with the formulation of a back-to-school plan amid the current wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a letter, dr. Kieran Moore suggested that dr. Mustafa Hirji’s approach to the return of personal learning and child care has not dealt with proper measures with Public Health Ontario, the Ministry of Education and two other provincial outlets.
Moore targeted three local public health guidelines – CO2 levels in classrooms, dismissal of classroom cohorts and medical releases for masks – in his correspondence with Hirji dated 15 January.
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“The memos describe the severity of disease and high risk of the Omicron variant without providing any evidence to support this claim and in contrast to the best evidence available of the reduced risk of morbidity and mortality in the pediatric population,” he said. Moore wrote.
He went on to question why the AMOH would declare that only 25 percent of youth contract COVID infections while in school, versus a 75 percent risk in the community.
“This statement would indicate that schools are significantly a safer place for children and youth to be,” Moore said.
“Yet you put children and young people in the position of being at home in the community more often than schools and without taking any additional measures to limit community transfer.”
CO2 monitoring is one initiative in question as Hirji has asked schools to monitor weekly with a specific reading. Moore suggested that there was no correlation between it and viral transmission in any known research and that recent HVAC upgrades were not recognized by the province.
Moore also questioned the possible dismissal of class cohorts for seven days amid a case management situation that runs counter to the province’s recommendation of isolation of affected populations.
Compulsory medical notes for those who could not wear a mask were also a grievance that Moore insinuated would be paid out of pocket by families affecting those of ‘lower socio-economic status’.
Hirji said in a statement to Global News that he “appreciated the feedback”, but assured that the head of Niagara Public Health has built a “solid foundation” set by provincial guidelines with additions that include “local context” and “distribution patterns”. “in schools.
“We have adjusted some of the details of how our recommended measures will be implemented taking into account the relief of workload on our school boards,” Hirji wrote.
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“But we will continue with these measures to give children, teachers and other school staff additional protection as we personally resume school successfully.”
During the province’s latest COVID update, Moore said he has been in touch with Niagara public health since the letter and is continuing a dialogue about “their other approach.”
He said he was also seeking “clarity” from Hirji on school policies related to teachers in a workplace.
“Jurisdiction talks do not typically involve public health posts in workplaces, it’s more the Ministry of Labor,” Moore said.
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