#TurksandCaicos, October 19, 2021 – A return to in person learning has been an indisputable plus for Turks and Caicos children and families, but it has not come without some concerning statistics amidst the ongoing pandemic.  The Turks and Caicos, on Friday learned that students and teachers accounted for 213 of the 227 cases of Covid-19 detected between September 6 and October 16; that equates to 94 per cent of cases.

“We continue to see a higher proportion of cases among children when compared to time before the current surge. Since schools reopened on Sept 6th 2021, we have detected a total of 213 cases of COVID19 in the TCI. Of these, 47 (22 per cent) have been among school/nursery/kindergarten age children between the ages of 0 – 17 years. Of the 47 school aged children, 40 said they attended a local school/nursery,” said Dr. Nadia Astwood, Chief Medical Officer of the Turks and Caicos Islands.

At least four schools had to make sudden changes in how they delivered education and the pivot was pivotal.

Clement Howell High school in Providenciales reverted to a hybrid learning system after at least one teacher tested positive for Covid-19.  Students were permitted some days in school, and other days out of school and joining class virtually in order to ensure physical distancing could be optimized.

Ona Glinton Primary school in Grand Turk opted to send just one class home after being PCR tested by the Ministry of Health staff.  This isolated students who may have been exposed to a case linked through contact tracing, while allowing the students to still attend their classes virtually while their school mates went on with in-person learning completely uninterrupted.

In both cases, no outbreak was discovered and any threat was neutralized thanks to the easily activated back-up plans.

During a National Health Update on Friday October 15, Dr. Astwood spoke of the collaboration which continues between the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education in order to ensure school campuses are safe, but also that children are getting the best possible education.

Results on examinations for hundreds of students proved that in school, in person learning is most ideal for children. Many struggled to keep pace through the virtual platforms, others lacked the access to virtual platforms and for families which have now returned to the work field, it is critical that schools are in session on campus.

“We do work very closely with the Ministry and Department of Education. So we share information on the testing of students, we work closely with the principals of the schools so anytime there is a positive case we communicate with them, provide advice and do the testing,” said Dr. Astwood.

Mask-wearing continues to be mandatory, so is physical distancing and the ramped-up hygiene protocols.

“We continue to encourage the uptake of the vaccine amongst school aged children as another protection,” added the CMO.

The Pfizer vaccine is available to Turks and Caicos generally for first time takers, to all residents 12 years and older and a booster shot program for priority groups was rolled out in early October.

While there were education and Q&A opportunities for the education sector prior to the resumption of in person learning across the country, which in this 2021-2022 Academic Year was a first for the Turks and Caicos since the start of the pandemic, sessions continue to be held to support the school system.

“We have updated the guidelines for the schools in terms of the Covid -19 response, yesterday (October 14) the Deputy Chief Medical Officer would have held a meeting with teachers, principals and vice principals in the Ministry of Education, to go through some of those update protocols so there are trigger points on which way we go and when,” said Jamell Robinson, Minister of Health for the Turks and Caicos Islands.

The minister was addressing a media question related to what would necessitate a closure of schools or an end to in person learning amidst the ongoing, potentially deadly Cornavirus pandemic.

“The gist still is, face-to-face is better and its ideal but we don’t want to have our children in any additional adverse environments clearly, but there are guidelines in place to dictate what takes place at which school. Because it can go as far as all out shut down and changing, as well as just the shutting down of a class itself or just isolating a few students.  There is flexibility there, so it isn’t a one size fits all and it wouldn’t be a decision that’s taken across the board for schools across the country, it is more a case by case basis,” explained Minister Robinson.

The CMO reinforced the message, strongly intimating that it would take a rampant outbreak in order to alter the current plan, which she feels is working very well.

“We are trying not to disrupt education. Children have suffered around the world because of the pandemic, not being in educational settings.  On line learning is not been ideal but where there have been instances where we have had to children home for online learning we have done so, but not to shut the entire schools.  We have not been seeing what we have seen in other Caribbean countries, which are huge outbreaks in schools.  We have been seeing sporadic cases in the schools and so the public health team has been doing the relevant contact tracing etc, but again it hasn’t been a huge spread that we are finding in the classes.  And I think that speaks to the measures which are in place.”

There are around 4,500 children who make up the student population of the Turks and Caicos, according to 2020 figures.  That only 47 students have been confirmed with Covid-19 is both a relief and commendable.

“We’ve been very fortunate.  Most of the cases (in children) are very mild illness, sort of more cough and cold.  The children that we have identified (with Covid-19) have been managed at home and none of them have needed (hospital) admission for Covid related illness but we have been watching international data, which shows that with the Delta variant, children are more likely to be hospitalised and have, you know, in some cases more serious events,” explained the CMO as she expounded on whether children have been severely impacted by the disease.

The report has been more heartbreaking for school faculty, especially in the public school system.  The Education sector, in September, lost a primary school senior administrator and seasoned educator; she died of Covid-19 just weeks into the new academic year.

Parents continue to be advised to keep their children home if they are experiencing cold or flu like symptoms.