COVID-19 contact notification reduced as Manitoba students go back to class
Posted January 13, 2022 5:45 pm.
Last Updated January 13, 2022 9:14 pm.
Manitoba schools will no longer notify close contacts of those infected with COVID-19 when students return to class next week.
Dr. Brent Roussin, chief public health officer, says the Omicron variant spreads so quickly that any contacts may already be symptomatic.
Roussin says the province is not focusing on eliminating the variant, but looking to mitigate its effects.
From now on, the province will react if case counts, absenteeism or other symptoms of the pandemic rise in a given school.
If that happens, measures that could be taken would include moving a class, cohort or an entire school to one week of remote learning.
The Opposition says the government has failed to make schools safer by not upgrading ventilation systems or creating enough space for physical distancing.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 13, 2022.
