Emergency room doctor, teacher call for rapid antigen testing in B.C. schools
An emergency room physician at St. Paul's Hospital is calling on the B.C. government to join other provinces and launch a school-based rapid antigen testing program for students.
Dr. Shannon O’Donnell’s children attend Capilano Elementary in North Vancouver, where five classes have been impacted by recent COVID-19 exposures. One division is now in a two week quarantine, and the other four are still attending class, but have been told to self-monitor for symptoms.
“It’s a perfect opportunity to add this layer of protection for the kids who are asked to monitor for symptoms,” said O’Donnell. “If their family received 10 or 14 days of tests, then they could test the child each day at home before sending them to school.”
Paul Tupper, an infectious disease modeller at Simon Fraser University, agrees. “If we are concerned enough about a kid that we are asking them to self-monitor, I think that’s a good enough reason to ask them to take a rapid test,” he said.
This week, the governments of Ontario, Quebec and Alberta all announced new or expanded rapid antigen testing in schools. They’re already in use in Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia.
“I think B.C. should completely do it,“ said Burnaby teacher Jennifer Heighton. “Especially in a school that is having some positive cases. I think rapid testing in the classroom where those cases have been found would give parents the peace of mind to know whether or not their child might have it.”
The education minister says the province is already offering take home gargle tests to students who have COVID symptoms at school. But those are PCR tests, and need to be sent to a lab.
“The problem with PCR tests is for one, they’re expensive, and we learn the results a couple days later. And that’s often too slow to really stop transmission from happening, because we know children or anyone can transit COVID without symptoms,” said Tupper.
O’Donnell says the take home rapid tests are simple for parents, with results in about 15 minutes. While B.C.’s health minister says Canada is experiencing a shortage of rapid tests, other provinces appear to be sourcing a supply for schools, and using them to screen students after classroom exposures.
“I think it’s the perfect scenario, we have been using it in health care facilities when we get outbreaks there,” said O’Donnell.
She’s relieved her children aren’t in the four classrooms that have been told to self-monitor at Capilano Elementary. But O’Donnell believes rapid testing is needed for the students that are.
“I feel better that they’re all in masks now, “ she said. “But definitely having that available, it just makes sense.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
U.S. says Israel's use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete
The Biden administration said Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
'We have laws': Premier Smith says police action justified in Calgary
The actions, including the decision to use non-lethal force, to disperse pro-Palestinian protesters from the University of Calgary campus were justified, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Friday.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.