Canadian Region Backtracks Mandating Solitary Isolation for COVID-Exposed Children

Public health authorities in Peel Region, Ontario, Canada, released guidelines for children whose classmate has received a positive COVID-19 test result. Children without symptoms were to be put in solitary isolation at home, separated from their family members if possible, reportedly under the threat of a steep fine. The policy has since been described by an expert as “cruel punishment”. Amid significant public backlash, the infographic, described by Peel’s chief health official as not reflective of their real intentions, was recalled.

Last week, the infographic originally published on the Peel Health website called for schoolchildren to self-isolate away from their family members if one of their classmates received a positive COVID-19 test result, even if the child does not have any symptoms. It called for the child to stay and eat in a separate room, use a separate bathroom, and observe ‘social distancing’ guidelines when leaving the room becomes necessary.

The formulation of the guidelines leaves very little room for interpretation of the leftmost column. Since the middle column singles out a case where multiple children in one household do not need to self-isolate in separate rooms, such wording, by implication, reaffirms the meaning of the case of an only child within a household, where solitary isolation would be required. Had it been upheld, the guideline was reported as applying to children as young as four years old. 

Since the guideline has been released, significant public attention has been drawn to it, especially following the reporting by the Toronto Sun. The newspaper contacted numerous experts to seek their views on the policy. Dr Susan Richardson, a microbiologist and infectious diseases physician, told the Sun:

“This is cruel punishment for a child, … Shutting a child off from their parents and siblings for up to 14 days in this manner could produce significant and long-lasting emotional and psychological effects.”

Another infectious diseases physician, Dr Martha Fulford, commented:

“I don’t understand how any health-care professional has moved so far away from the fundamentals of public health and of doing no harm that they would think that basically incarcerating a child in a room for 14 days is in any way justified, … This is shocking, especially when you consider this is being proposed for children who are not in any way sick.”

Toronto Sun also cites a social media user who had reportedly received instructions from health officials, claiming there is a CA$ 5,000 “fine for non-compliance” through which the guidelines are being enforced.

Following the backlash, Mayor of Brampton, one of two large population centres in Peel Region on the outskirts of Toronto, Patrick Brown, made a statement on Twitter describing the “flyer” as a “mistake”.

In response to his comments, he was being called out by the public, which pointed out that in the absence of media coverage, the guidelines would likely not have been rolled back.

In his tweet, Brown was referring to Dr Lawrence Loh, Peel Region’s Medical Officer for Health. In a press briefing, Loh explained the office’s stance on the guidelines:

“[The] communication product by Peel Public Health contained an error. This product has since been removed and is being revised.”

Loh stated that the infographic did not reflect the guidelines now available on the Peel Public Health website, where families are advised to isolate together with their child. He continued:

“It is important that these guidelines were done with the best intentions with the recognition that household transmission does continue to be a significant source of spread in our community and to the extent that we can balance the risk of transmission, certainly with the emotional and physical needs of children - that was where we were trying to go, but the product has been removed and is being revised.”

Although Loh’s statements suggest that Peel Public Health distances itself from the instructions outlined in the document, Canada’s Ministry of Health was not unambiguous in its comments on the situation. While it was made clear that Health Minister Stephen Lecce had “absolutely nothing to do” with the guidelines, the Ministry’s spokesperson responded to a question by the Toronto Sun specifically asking about child isolation by stating:

“The need for an individual to self-isolate if they have COVID-19 symptoms or may have been exposed to COVID-19 is not new, … Recognizing it may be difficult for children to self-isolate from the rest of their household, parents and caregivers should take appropriate precautions when caring for children who either have COVID-19 or have been identified as a close contact of a confirmed case, and should seek additional guidance from their local public health unit.”

Before the guidelines were recalled and instructions clarified, members of the public on Twitter had already started sharing their experiences putting their children in solitary isolation.

One commenter suggested that considering the circumstances, such treatment of one’s own children amounts to cult behaviour. The apparent blind cruelty supported by one’s conscience was also pointed out: “These people would 10/10 sacrifice their children to the Gods for a good corn crop.”

As reactions of experts and the public to the solitary confinement of children in other contexts also show, such measures are typically approached with extreme levels of caution. In 2019, TruePublica’s investigation uncovered the practice widespread in Illinois government schools of putting schoolchildren in solitary confinement as a “safety” measure, causing a significant public and legislative outcry. In September 2020, a Swedish court ruled to keep children away from the family that had isolated them in separate rooms, which they were accused of “nailing shut with planks” to prevent them from escaping, out of the fear of COVID-19.