A New Brunswick supply teacher says students and staff should always have to isolate when a case of COVID-19 pops up in a school.
The teacher, who Global News has agreed to not identify because she is worried about losing her job, worked in a school that had a positive case of COVID-19 while the province was in the orange phase of its COVID-19 recovery plan.
She says she learned of the case through the media.
Public health officials call people if they need to isolate or get tested.
This teacher says she isolated and got tested as a precaution, despite not receiving a call.
But then, she did get contacted by public health officials.
“Eventually, I did get the call” to get tested, she tells Global News. “The call came one week after I learned in the media that the school had a COVID case.”
She got another COVID-19 test at the request of public health officials; both results came back negative.
But she worries about what could’ve happened before learning her results.
“Based on the ‘no news is good news,’ I could have taken all kinds of teaching jobs in that time period because I hadn’t heard from public health,” she says.
Under the red phase, schools close for 3 days while contact tracing and cleaning happens.
In an Education and Early Childhood Development (EECD) document dated Jan. 20, it says “all school personnel will be required to get tested.”
Dr. Jennifer Russell, the province’s chief medical officer, confirmed Friday the testing requirement is only for staff.
Russell also said people in the red phase need to get isolate while they await test results if they have any symptoms of COVID-19
In the Government of New Brunswick school protocols for the orange phase, dated Dec. 11, there is no mention of positive case protocols.
But Dorothy Shephard, the province’s health minister, reiterated if public health doesn’t call you, you have nothing to worry about.
“If you don’t hear from public health, then you’re OK,” she said. “You would be contacted if you were at risk and need to isolate or get tested.”
But this supply teacher says everyone in schools should be informed when contact tracing is complete to help reassure them they’re in the clear.
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