Hamilton schools waiting to use asymptomatic COVID-19 testing

Hamilton's medical officer of health says public health is speaking with Ontario's Ministry of Education and health experts about how local schools can implement asymptomatic testing for students and staff as they return to in-person learning.

"We're looking at how that might help us with investigations, when we're looking at cases where cohorts are dismissed ... and whether there are other applications of it," Dr. Elizabeth Richardson said on Tuesday.

The hope is more testing can help clamp down on the virus's ability ot spread.

Education Minister Stephen Lecce previously said "on the day schools reopen ... all schools and all public health units will be eligible, will have the capacity and the testing kits required."

Dawn Danko, chair of the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB), has also expressed support for testing people with no symptoms, especially after the board saw the number of COVID-19 cases more than double in December. There were roughly 115 new infections in students and staff compared to 95 cases between September and the end of November, according to data online.

"Given the nature of COVID where some cases are absolutely asymptomatic or have very minimal symptoms, and they often see this in younger people, asymptomatic testing is the only way we can really appreciate what the state of affairs are in Hamilton, in the community and in our schools," she said before the winter break.

"Other trustees and chairs from other boards have said, 'Don't forget the remote communities. Don't forget the rural communities. Don't forget the northern communities.' Because again, right now we know symptomatic cases that get tested, or someone is exposed and they get tested, then we find positive cases. But we also know there are positive cases that we don't, we can't detect, without doing asymptomatic testing."

While the province and many health officials have said schools aren't vectors for the virus, asymptomatic testing was used in the Greater Toronto Area and Ottawa late last year. It revealed an outbreak involving more than 20 cases was discovered at Thorncliffe Park Public School in Toronto, the first school where the program was deployed.

How effective are asymptomatic tests?

Richardson said the province has hired a third-party to roll out the asymptomatic testing.

She said there's been active discussion about how effective asymptomatic testing is and the best way to use it. They have been used in workplace outbreaks and long-term care homes, usually with speedy results. There are also nasal swabs, which are different from the regular nasopharyngeal swab, though they aren't always as effective.

Richardson said schools are looking at using rapid, antigen tests to help understand the spread of COVID-19 in schools and find more cases within dismissed cohorts. For now, public health is still working out the details about the antigen tests.

"These are the ones where, really from my perspective, it's of more 'use it where you can use it' in a group that's not otherwise going to get tested. If people are having a difficult time accessing testing, that might be where you bring those tests to them," she said.

"But it should never be a replacement for diagnostic testing — testing for somebody who is symptomatic — that absolutely should not be the case. We need to use the gold standard test that is out there through the assessment centres in those situations."

HWDSB said in a statement on Tuesday evening that it's still working with public health, and more information will be shared after the details are finalized.

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