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Back to SearchChildren’s Health Coalition: Prioritize rapid tests for schools & child care and maintain safety measures for kids health
OTTAWA, February 10, 2022 – As leaders in children’s health, we are pleased that additional Rapid Access Tests (RATs) are being made available to Ontarians. In the absence of widespread PCR testing, RATs are an important tool to continue to monitor and prevent COVID-19 transmission. We urge the government to ensure that every school, child care and health care setting continue to be prioritized in their distribution. Parents and families should be able to access RATs from their school or day care when they need it.
Additionally, we ask that the government exercise caution in lifting public health measures in schools too fast and too soon while we remain in the Omicron wave. Kids, parents and families have been subject to many rules and changes throughout the pandemic. They need stability. Ontario has a comprehensive school safety plan which includes many important public health mitigation measures, and we encourage government to continue with this plan.
We remain optimistic there will be a point when we can adjust these measures—but now is not the time. Many of our children remain unvaccinated, including those under five who are ineligible, and without that level of protection, they are at risk of contracting COVID-19 illness. And as we know too well, complex and medically fragile kids continue to be at greater risk of the effects of COVID. That’s why we must all continue to promote vaccination, masking and reducing of contacts to protect kids and their health. We all have a part to play in keeping our children healthy.
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Media contact
media@cheo.on.ca
About CHEO
Based in Canada’s capital, CHEO is a globally renowned health institution with a mission to provide exceptional care and support to children, youth and their families. Opening our doors in 1974, we offer a full range of specialized pediatric care and services to children from eastern and northern Ontario, western Quebec and Nunavut. Our site is home to a hospital, a children’s treatment centre, a school, a research institute, and is affiliated with the University of Ottawa as an academic health science centre. Named Canada’s best health-care employer by Forbes in 2024 and 2025, we are home to more than 6,500 staff, clinicians, scientists and researchers, as well as volunteers – all of whom work together to help children and youth achieve their best lives.