Epidemiologist urges caution as eased pandemic rules allow singing, wind instruments in Manitoba schools

The province announced it's easing COVID-19 restrictions to allow students to sing and play wind instruments inside Manitoba schools starting Monday, but a Winnipeg epidemiologist cautions it might be too soon to relax the rules.

"I would be much more comfortable as the weather gets warmer, obviously, if practice is outdoors,"said Cynthia Carr, a Winnipeg-based epidemiologist and founder of EPI Research.

"But I would also kind of think about, 'Is this still achievable over a Zoom meeting, and is it worth it to try to do this in person?'"

The province made the move to restrict singing and the playing of wind instruments inside schools last year when COVID-19 cases started spiking in Manitoba.

At the time, a spokesperson for the Manitoba government said guidelines on music were based on reports that participation in a choir was associated with COVID-19 "super-spreader" events.

A Friday bulletinfrom Manitoba Educationsaid it would once again allow indoor singing and playing of wind instruments for K-12 students in music classes and extracurricular activities, as long as schools followa list of safety rules.

The province said masks are to be worn, instruments must be cleaned regularly, there must be a limit of 25 people and there needs to be two metres of physical distancing between participants, or barriers such as Plexiglasif distancing isn't possible.

The province also listed a number of recommendations schools should consider to reduce risk, such as not sharing wind and brass instruments and having students either empty their spit valves aloneor with two metres of physical distancing and mask use.

The province also gave guidanceon how students should stand when practising and saidschools should ensure rooms are well-ventilated, withthe air exchange system functioning properly.

Carr said she felt those guidelines lackedinformation on how proper ventilation would be measured.

"In the document I read, it didn't say what that standard is," said Carr. "It doesn't mean it doesn't exist. I just don't see it in these specific guidelines."

While she recognizes COVID-19 case numbers have gone down in recent weeks, she said there is an elevated risk when singing and using wind instruments inside.

There's also the emergence of new, more contagious coronavirus variants. More than 20 cases have beenidentified in Manitoba so far.

"It doesn't take much for that variant of concern to become a dominant strain," Carr said."And we know that the more people are together, the more those viruses will take that opportunity to spread."

She thinks it would have made sense to leave the restrictionsin place until at least the end of this school year.

"Just to give us some breathing room so that we don't see outbreaks in the school that perhaps could have been avoided," Carr said.

Rules lack detail, teacher says

Dorothy Dyck, a choir teacher at Maples Collegiate in Winnipeg, said she's thrilled students will be able to start singing at school and is committed to trying to do it as safely as possible.

"It's not going to be how it was yet," said Dyck. "ButI think it's just going to be such a relief that they get to start to experience this little bit of normalcy."

She plans to follow the mandatory rules set out by the province to help reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission. In fact, she wished they went further.

Like Carr, Dyck thinks the details about how to ensure a room is properly ventilated are vague.

She's also done her own research that suggests people should limitthe amount of timethey're singing together indoors to 30 minutes.

"There's no mention of a [maximum] time at all," said Dyck.

With the weather warming up, Dycksaid she'll likely be conducting class inside for 30 minutes and then moving outdoors to give the room some time to air out.

She said while she's happy the rules have been relaxed, more detailed guidelines wouldhelp ensure there's consistency among schools.

"We still need to be cautious," said Dyck.