Department of Education clarifies Russell's comments about absenteeism triggering school closures

New Brunswick public schools will not automatically be closed if their absenteeism rate hits 10 per cent, following the lifting of all COVID-19 restrictions earlier this week, as the province's top doctor indicated, according to the Department of Education.

"When a school hits an absenteeism level of 10 per cent or above their normal attendance levels, this triggers an assessment from Public Health," department spokesperson Flavio Nienow said in an emailed statement.

"Based on that assessment, Public Health could provide direction to close a school or class. Alternatively, they could continue to monitor the situation.

"As such, a school may not necessarily close when the 10 per cent threshold is reached."

On Monday, CBC News asked Dr. Jennifer Russell, the chief medical officer of health, about the government's decision to provide the public with less information to make informed decisions, now that the COVID-19 dashboard is being updated only weekly instead of daily, and parents no longer have to report if their child tests positive for COVID to their school.

"With respect to the schools and the reporting, the shift really is around making sure that we still report information as we do with other transmissible diseases and certainly in the school setting, when the absenteeism reaches 10 per cent, that's when a school would be closed," she said.

"And so that's the approach we're using right now with COVID moving forward. And that's what happened, you know, before COVID with any [other] outbreaks."

In fact, earlier in the pandemic, absenteeism at some schools reached more than 50 per cent.

In January 2021, on the first day a new policy took effect, keeping K-12 schools open at the most restrictive red level, the average absenteeism across two school districts jumped to nearly 25 per cent, while at least two others were well over 10 per cent, although the attendance records indicate only that the students were absent from school, not the reasons why.

Asked if the province will know when a school reaches 10 per cent absenteeism if parents are no longer reporting their children's positive cases, Russell replied, "We hope that people will continue to report.

"It is very important for people to self-report" positive rapid test results, she said.

School attendance data does not specify whether a student is missing class because of COVID, flu or another type of illness, said Nienow.

But Public Health uses absenteeism data from schools to help inform Flu Watch and prevent major outbreaks of communicable diseases such as pertussis, measles and gastroenteritis infections, he said.

"Public Health's assessment takes into account all absence types to evaluate the situation, determine the level of risk and take action if deemed necessary."