We were pleased to welcome our students back to in-person learning over the past two days and we are thankful for your attention to the daily completion of the COVID-19 screening tool before leaving for school. This measure has continued to support a safe return to school.
With this most recent return, we would like to share the following updates:
Letter from Minister of Education and Chief Medical Officer of Health – Dr. Kieran Moore, Chief Medical Officer of Health and Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education, have shared a letter for parents concerning steps taken to protect in-person learning in schools. It also contains information about what to do if you are experiencing symptoms, have tested positive for COVID-19, or have had contact with someone suspected of having COVID-19.
Please see the letter here: Letter from Minister of Education and Chief Medical Officer of Health
Case and Contact Management in Schools - Under the new COVID-19 Interim Guidance for Schools and Child Care, public health will no longer be conducting contact tracing or dismissing class cohorts as they had prior to Christmas. In the past, schools and families received notification from public health of confirmed cases of COVID-19. The Ministry guidance indicates that, given widespread transmission in our communities and the inability to test and confirm cases with all symptomatic individuals, schools will no longer be providing notification if there is a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19. We will continue to monitor and report daily absences with the provincial absence reporting tool and provide the necessary information to our local public health unit.
Daily monitoring for symptoms, staying home when unwell and following the guidance on the COVID-19 screening tool become important steps you can take to limit potential exposure to others. The COVID-19 Screening Tool can be found here: https://covid-19.ontario.ca/school-screening/
If you are concerned about having been exposed to COVID-19 please see the following guidance: https://covid-19.ontario.ca/exposed
Information about exposure to COVID-19 and suspected cases of COVID-19 is communicated in detail on the final two pages of the Letter from the Minister of Education and Chief Medical Officer of Health.
Vaccination Information - We have not received any additional information regarding timelines or locations of vaccination clinics in schools as announced recently by the Ministry. We would continue to encourage those who wish to receive a first, second, or booster COVID-19 vaccination, to visit WDG Public Health’s Vaccination Clinic website here: WDGPH Vaccination Clinics
Thank you for your ongoing support.