Speaking in the House of Assembly today [May 21], Minister of Education Diallo Rabain provided more information on the plans “to implement a Saliva Screening Regime Programme in our public schools, commencing Monday, May 24th.”
The Minister said, “Having students in school for in-person learning is a priority. Additionally, ensuring that our schools and school environments are safe for staff and students is equally important. In light of this, school staff are working diligently to keep COVID-19 from spreading in school buildings.
“Our schools are making tremendous efforts to keep our students, staff, and by extension, our families safe and healthy by implementing safety and health protocols aligned with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] and other international health organisations.
“Only students who have parental consent will participate. Each school will know in advance when the testing will occur at the school so that parents and students are aware.
“Parents have been sent a link to an electronic consent form that must be completed and returned to the Department. As of Wednesday, May 19th, a total of 1834 parents and/or guardians have given consent for their children to participate in the saliva testing programme. We appreciate their support of our efforts to make schools safer.”
The Minister’s full statement follows below:
“Mr Speaker, This morning I rise before you and my Honorable colleagues to share the plans that have been put in place to implement a Saliva Screening Regime Programme in our public schools, commencing Monday, May 24th.
“Mr Speaker, Having students in school for in-person learning is a priority. Additionally, ensuring that our schools and school environments are safe for staff and students is equally important. In light of this, school staff are working diligently to keep COVID-19 from spreading in school buildings.
“Our schools are making tremendous efforts to keep our students, staff, and by extension, our families safe and healthy by implementing safety and health protocols aligned with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] and other international health organisations.
“These safety and health protocols provide schools with a daily structure for applying the Government’s comprehensive prevention and control measures aimed at protecting staff and students and mitigating and reducing the risk of transmitting COVID-19.
“Mr Speaker, The Entry to Exit Safety and Health Protocols for our schools are comprehensive documents and include universal prevention strategies such as:
- 1. Morning screenings which include temperature taking
- 2. Students and staff wearing face masks
- 3. Hand washing and sanitising
- 4. Respiratory etiquette
- 5. Physical distancing
- 6. Using cohorts or bubbles
- 7. Wearing personal protection equipment [PPE], when necessary
- 8. Ensuring good ventilation in rooms
- 9. Cleaning, sanitising and disinfecting rooms and frequently touched surfaces throughout the school day using EPA approved products, and
- 10. Posting safety and health signs to promote safety and protective measures
“We recognise that the implementation of one safety measure will not work on its own. Therefore, a combined approach of all of these prevention strategies mentioned above will reduce the transmission of the COVID-19 virus and help keep our school environments safe.
“Mr Speaker, In addition to the Entry to Exit Safety and Health protocols created for each school level, the Department of Health has used current research and best practice to develop another layer of safety specific protocols to reduce the transmission of the COVID-19 virus. Some of these include specific protocols for:
- minibuses which transport students to and from school;
- sitting examinations in large rooms;
- field trips; and,
- the use of computer labs.
“These protocols drill down and outline explicit practices that staff and students must follow to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 when engaging in these types of activities. As schools make every effort to implement these protocols, the Department of Health has made it very clear that the protocols must be strictly adhered to 100% of the time to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
“Mr Speaker, The EEMC [Education Emergency Measures Committee] met on May 3rd to discuss the implementation of yet another safety measure – the introduction of a saliva screening strategy for public and private schools. The saliva screening strategy provides a means for identifying and mitigating the risks for exposure of COVID-19 in school buildings. The goal is to use the saliva test as a screen to help break chains of transmission quickly.
“The screening strategy will identify persons in our schools who may be COVID-19 positive and asymptomatic. Health officials will then determine the exposure risk and put in place the proper requirements to isolate individuals who have tested positive. The EEMC supported the introduction of the saliva screening programme in schools.
“Mr Speaker, The ability to offer COVID-19 testing at both public and private schools at every level, from preschool to senior school, and at Success Academy and DAME Hope Academy, is one more tool to help ensure our students can continue in-person learning safely. Bermuda’s public and private schools will join other schools around the world that have implemented saliva screening programmes and have demonstrated that saliva testing in schools is feasible, acceptable and effective. These include some schools in Canada, the United States, France, England and Germany.
“Mr Speaker, Our research revealed that for schools to sustain saliva screening programmes, partnerships are required with organisations that can support, oversee and coordinate the programme. The Department of Education has been very fortunate to establish a partnership with the Government’s Molecular Diagnostic Lab [MDL].
“Schools are responsible for ensuring the organisation of staff, students and the facility for testing. At the same time, MDL provides all of the equipment, resources, saliva kits, the schedule, and their staff to oversee the testing. This programme would not be possible without the partnership with MDL. We are indebted to them for their support.
“Mr Speaker, Only students who have parental consent will participate. Each school will know in advance when the testing will occur at the school so that parents and students are aware. We are also appreciative of MDL making special testing provisions for students who are in our ASD and Functional Skills programmes and who also attend Dame Hope Academy.
“Mr Speaker, The saliva screening programme involves each school organising students into groups as detailed by the MDL Team, with one group of students from across classes to be tested each week. Testing groups of students each week will provide the Molecular Diagnostic Lab [MDL] with samples across classrooms, and it will help determine any COVID-19 risks in the school on an ongoing basis.
“Repeated testing increases the chances of detecting the virus at a moment when new infections are occurring or have just occurred. Dr Carika Weldon, the Director of the Government’s MDL Lab, has also advised us that the saliva tests are as accurate as nasal pharyngeal tests.
“Mr Speaker, Staff who consent to participate in the programme will be scheduled for testing based on the frequency of their interactions with others. For example, a member of staff who interacts with many different students and other staff would be tested each week. Staff members who have contact with only some students and some staff would be tested every two weeks. Lastly, those staff with fewer interactions such as with only one class, would be tested once per month.
“Mr Speaker, The Ministry of Education sent out information letters to parents and principals that explained the process that must be followed when participating in the programme. On the day students and staff are scheduled for the saliva test, they must not eat, drink or chew gum at least 30 minutes prior to the test. This involves depositing a saliva sample in containers as provided by the MDL Lab with oversight by MDL staff.
“Mr Speaker, Once MDL secures the saliva samples, the results are available within 24 hours. The results of the saliva tests are sent to parents/guardians, not to the school principal or the Department of Education. If a positive test is detected, then the result is sent to the individual’s physician or GP and must be followed up with a nasal pharyngeal test
“Mr Speaker, A series of Town Hall meetings were held with the Department of Education Staff, School Staff and parents/guardians the week of May 10th. We were fortunate to have Dr Carika Weldon and Mr Tarik Bean-Darrell, MDL’s School Saliva Testing Coordinator on hand to present information about the saliva testing programme and to respond to questions. Videos of the sessions have been posted on the Department of Education’s YouTube Channel
“Mr Speaker, As previously mentioned, the Ministry also sent letters to parents and guardians about the saliva screening programme via their respective schools. These efforts were undertaken to ensure that parents had various opportunities to receive adequate information to make an informed decision.
“Mr Speaker, Parents have been sent a link to an electronic consent form that must be completed and returned to the Department. As of Wednesday, May 19th, a total of 1834 parents and/or guardians have given consent for their children to participate in the saliva testing programme. We appreciate their support of our efforts to make schools safer.
“Mr Speaker, The Ministry recognises that when children are not in school full-time and engaged in face-to-face learning, this is directly associated with a decline in health, well-being and educational achievement. We intend to do all that we can to keep our students in school with continuous learning until the end of the school term. The saliva screening programme will enable us to do this by being proactive with the asymptomatic saliva screening, which will add another layer of protection against COVID-19.
“Mr Speaker, Our school staff are doing an excellent job conducting in-person classes while simultaneously implementing various layers of safety measures in classrooms and schools, which now includes the saliva screening programme. This regime will be implemented during the remainder of this school year.
“Mr Speaker, In closing, I must emphasise that we need families and the community at large to do their part to keep our children and schools safe for learning. Therefore, it is critically important that we all follow the Public Health guidelines, wear a mask, practice good hand hygiene, maintain physical distance and download the WeHealth Bermuda app. Lastly, I encourage everyone to do the research, talk with their doctor, and make an informed decision about getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
“Let’s all work together to keep our students, staff and school environments safe so schools remain open and in-person learning can continue for the remainder of the school year.
“Thank You, Mr Speaker.”
