Union worried as virus variants spread in schools

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Dr. Marie-Pascale Pomey, a professor at the Universite de Montreal’s school of public health, said rapid tests can be useful anywhere where the same group of people is regularly in close contact — as is the case in schools.

Rapid tests — which can give results in 15 minutes — are most useful, she said, when a specific group can be followed over time, because they allow quick detection of people who become positive. They can be particularly helpful to slow the spread of variants inside schools, she added.

“That’s what we’re looking for, people who change status, who are negative and become positive,” Pomey said. “That alerts us to the fact that they are potentially at risk of transmitting the virus.”

Pomey said she thinks schools should stay open but that teachers should be vaccinated quickly.

This content has been updated on 1 March 2021 at 9 h 52 min.