Post-secondary schools to maintain pandemic protocols

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This article was published 01/03/2022 (1422 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MOST of Manitoba’s major post-secondary institutes are keeping mask and vaccine protocols intact until their respective winter semesters end to minimize continuous COVID-19 changes.

“As scientific leaders, (universities) should follow the strictest and strongest evidence, which clearly shows that fully vaccinated individuals wearing masks are the least likely to transmit and the least likely to get sick from all variants of COVID,” said Andrew Halayko, a professor who studies pulmonary health at the University of Manitoba.

The Canada Research Chair in lung pathobiology and treatment indicated he plans to wear a mask indefinitely. It would be “paradoxical” if his medical campus ceased the requirement, Halayko added.

The U of M, University of Winnipeg, University College of the North and Brandon University have all confirmed plans to maintain status-quo policies, for now — despite changing provincial regulations.

“We feel that it would be disruptive to change our mask and vaccine mandates in the middle of term,” said Chris Minaker, associate vice-president of strategic communications and external relations at the U of W.

Fewer than a quarter of total courses at U of W are taking place in-person on the downtown campus, given the school postponed a widespread return planned in early 2022 because of concerns about the Omicron variant.

Red River College Polytechnic also plans to keep its strict policy on face coverings, which mandates students, staff and visitors to wear either a medical-grad, KN95 or N95 mask on campus, for the rest of its winter semester.

The polytechnic institute, however, is ending a requirement that visitors must show proof of immunization against COVID-19 to enter facilities, starting Tuesday.

“At the beginning of the winter term, more than 90 per cent of staff and students had identified that they had been double vaccinated, and there will not be many additional students or visitors on campus for the remainder of the term,” wrote Lauren Parsons, a communications manager at RRC Polytech, in an email.

Parsons said the school will continue to provide a mix of virtual and in-person education, with only experiential and hands-on training taking place on campus to reduce capacity and thus, limit opportunities for COVID-19 transmission.

Public venues in Manitoba will no longer need to check vaccine cards before admitting visitors as of March 1, as the province phases out restrictions in an attempt to establish a “new normal.” The indoor mask mandate and all remaining public health policies are slated to end two weeks later.

“I will 100 per cent still be wearing a mask in March, in April, probably in May,” said Aleeza Gerstein, an assistant professor in microbiology and statistics at the U of M. “Wearing a mask is not cumbersome… I actually gave birth in a KN95 mask a year ago, so it’s not that much of a hardship.”

The U of M recently tightened its mask policy in the lead-up to the first day of its gradual reopening on Monday so that all visitors wear KN95s indoors. An estimated 40 per cent of the community, including around 5,000 daily visitors, is expected to return for the end of the winter term.

Student union president Brendan Scott said Monday that the Fort Garry campus was the busiest it had been since 2020.

“I’m actually very happy that the university is taking more safety precautions than the province,” Scott said. “It very much makes this campus a much safer place.”

The undergraduate student leader added that the benefits are two-fold for students and faculty alike because the protections will limit physical illness and in turn, class disruptions such as retake tests and assignment extensions.

Gerstein said she was “extremely heartened” that her employer has strengthened its mask policy and procured tons of high quality masks to distribute to community members on campus, free of charge.

As a result of limited PCR testing eligibility and widespread at-home rapid testing, hospitalization rates are the only remaining reliable measure of the COVID-19 situation in the province — and even then, they paint a two-week-old picture, she noted.

Gerstein and Halayko are among the local scientists who have been outspoken about concerns that the province is rushing to repeal restrictions when the pandemic is ongoing.

“Masks are the cheapest, easiest and least invasive way we have to prevent transmission,” Halayko said.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie