Since the COVID-19 pandemic sent Quebec (and the rest of the world) into a major lockdown, the start of the school year has been plagued with worry and uncertainty. Despite the increase in the number of cases this summer, experts say there is no need to worry.
However, continuing good practices is key, especially keeping a sick child at home.
“It’s inevitable that there will be COVID-19 cases in classrooms since children are next to each other,” explained Virology Expert and UQAM Professor Benoit Barbeau. “Whether it’s the COVID-19 virus or the flu virus, ideally, the parent should keep the [sick] child at home and avoid sending them to school because those are not the best conditions to learn.”
Among other important measures, Barbeau noted that ventilation in classrooms has been the topic of discussion since pandemic.
“There needs to be a certain air flow to ensure that the air always circulates. We hope that schools are equipped with good ventilation units,” he said.
The number of positive COVID-19 cases has been on the rise this summer and continues to climb.
Data from the Quebec government from Aug. 11 to 17 shows nearly 2,500 new cases, including 1,217 hospitalizations.
“It’s certain that when the school year starts again, we will closely monitor this virus and the others, but this one particularly in relation to what we have experienced in recent years. We want to make sure that we have a good understanding of the situation, of the current picture, even before the school year starts. It is up to the provincial and federal governments to communicate good practices to the population and ensure that, despite this increase, we can maintain a certain control over the transmission of this virus,” said Barbeau.
He specified that sub-variants KP.1, KP.2 and KP.3 are currently very prevalent and more transmissible, which is causing the infections.
The previous sub-variants BA.1, BA.2, BA.4 and BA.5, are derived from the Omicron variant.
“The benefit that we have gained from this sudden and very significant prevalence of Omicron is the idea that the symptoms are usually less severe than the previous variant. We saw the Delta variant rising previously, and it grew in terms of infected cases, but it was much more significant in terms of symptoms,” explained Barbeau.
The current situation is not worrying
Although the sub-variants that come from Omicron are associated with less severe symptoms than those of the Delta variant, they could mutate into a more aggressive virus.
“We could eventually arrive at a [variant] that is a little more dangerous, associated with more serious symptoms,” he said.
However, he believes that the sub-variants currently circulating in Quebec are “not too serious in terms of risk of hospitalization cases.” He also points out that children generally have minor symptoms of COVID-19.
Cases of hospitalization in children are few and deaths are rare.
The virology expert does not expect COVID-19 to have as much impact on the education as it has during previous school years.
“I believe that closing a class is really a last resort if the situation gets out of control and is the only way to reduce transmission,” he said.
Barbeau believes that the worst is over since the Omicron wave hit Quebec from 2021 to 2022.
“It was the peak, an extraordinary amplitude in the rise in cases of infection. […] Suddenly, we caught up with those who were not [infected]. It was a peak and I would be surprised if we experience the same thing in the coming years or even decades, but you never know.”
Other viruses
There are other respiratory viruses, including other coronaviruses, rhinoviruses, and adenoviruses, which are all responsible for the common cold.
Another thing to watch for is the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which is more dangerous for young children and the elderly.
COVID-19 is a virus that always circulates, although it’s more active in the fall and winter.
The fact that it is transmitted all year round means that it adapts according to the population that’s infected.
“Throughout the multitude of variants that are produced, there is always one that finds the winning combination to be able to be more prevalent. This is what we have seen since the end of May when hospitalization cases increased,” explained Barbeau.
Influenza, which emerges in the fall and lasts until the end of winter, can also cause a significant number of hospitalizations.
Each year, the influenza vaccine is produced based on forecasts made by the World Health Organization, which attempts to predict which strains of influenza will be most dominant during the upcoming season.
For COVID-19 vaccination, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) recommends that only vaccines containing the most recent selected strain should be used in fall 2024.
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–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews