The best way to stop the spread of COVID-19 both in the community and in schools is simple; keep two metres away from other people.
That’s coming from Doctor Amy Greer, the Canada Research Chair in Population Disease Modeling, who says class sizes in Ontario need to be smaller.
“Physical distancing is placed in the engineering control category of the hierarchy of control measures, which makes it more effective than PPE and administrative controls.”
She tells us that two metres of distance between individuals needs to be prioritized to reduce the risk of transmission in schools.
“Smaller classes reduce the chance that a class will have an infected individual arrive,” says Greer, “And if an importation (of a case) does occur, because of physical distancing the overall risk of secondary transmission is reduced.”
Doctor Greer also says that smaller class sizes will help keep teachers safe.
“It’s insufficient that some teachers are expected to move between class groups. It exposes to these teachers to many different class cohorts. Reducing class size and improving distancing would help to offset some of this risk.”
Greer adds that physical distancing is more important in stopping the spread of COVID-19 than personal protective equipment.
