School staff are no more likely to contract COVID-19 at work than they are in day-to-day life in their communities, a new study out of B.C. has found.
The study's results were released as schools are wrapping up for the summer following a challenging year that saw changing policies, closures and outbreaks for many educational facilities across the country. For teachers, parents and students that led to stress and uncertainty.
"These findings show that, with appropriate mitigation strategies in place, in-person schooling is not associated with significantly increased risk of transmission for classroom-based staff compared to members of the general population," said Dr. Pascal Lavoie, principal investigator of the study, in a news release.
Of the 1,556 people researchers tested, 2.3 per cent tested positive for antibodies. According to the study, that number is similar to the number of infections in a reference group of similar age, sex and area of residence. "If during this period of time we really saw that it mirrored what happens in the community. It really tells us that with mitigation strategies that our schools are safe places."The study also included a survey of 1,689 school staff. Of those, 278 said they had close contact with a student or co-worker who had tested positive for COVID-19, but only five staff who were infected themselves believed it was likely they got infected while at work.
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