A case of COVID-19 has been identified at St. Clement CES. Public Health can provide you with additional information/language to include here related to the case(s), while respecting privacy. For example, if a cohort or multiple cohorts have been dismissed, etc. St. Clement CES is working with Region of Waterloo Public Health to prevent further spread of COVID-19 in Children/Students, staff and the community.

 

What does this mean for Children/Students?

  • Public Health will work with the WCDSB to identify high-risk student and staff contacts of the confirmed case.
  • Children/Students who have been identified as high-risk contacts of a confirmed case have been sent a letter by the school with specific information on dates of exposure, testing information, and the cohort end of isolation date.
  • High risk contacts will be followed up via text and phone, to reinforce specific directions related to the need for the student to self-isolate and get tested
  • Children/Students who have been identified as low-risk contacts of a confirmed case will not be contacted and are not required to self-isolate.
    • Children/Students and families who have been identified as low-risk contacts of the case should self-monitor for symptoms
    • Children/Students who develop symptoms should self-isolate and get tested at an assessment centre
  • If additional cohorts must self-isolate or the school must close, you will be notified by the school. The school will keep you informed about any plans regarding return to school.
    • Schools: The term cohort includes children/students and staff in the same class, children/students involved in group activities or who have been in shared spaces during school, students that ride the same bus, attend before/after school care, or participate in extracurricular programming together.
    • Child care/other: The term cohort includes children and staff who have been in shared spaces or involved in group activities at the [setting description]
  • Continue to monitor and screen your child for symptoms of COVID-19 daily.

 

What is COVID-19?

·         COVID-19 is a new strain of coronavirus that has not previously been identified in humans

  • COVID-19 symptoms include, but are not limited to fever, cough, trouble breathing, sore throat or nasal congestion. A list of symptoms, including atypical signs and symptoms, can be also be found in the COVID-19 Reference Document for Symptoms on the Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 website
  • People may be able to pass COVID-19 to others from 48 hours before symptoms begin to 10 days after the start of symptoms

 

What is a Variant of Concern (VOC)?

  • Viruses constantly change through mutation, and new variants of a virus are expected to occur over time. Sometimes new variants emerge and disappear. Other times, new variants emerge and persist. For COVID-19, variants of concern (VOC) are those that may spread more easily or may cause more severe illness.
  • In response to the evolving situation related to VOCs, Region of Waterloo Public Health has initiated enhanced Contact Management for all COVID-19 cases in an effort to prevent the spread. This means that we use a lower risk threshold to identify contacts and initiate contact tracing early while test results may be pending.

 

Additional COVID-19 resources can be found on Region of Waterloo Public Health’s COVID-19 webpage at http://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/COVID19.

 

 

APPENDIX: Posters and Factsheets

General prevention

Self-isolating and monitoring

 

Testing

 

 

Masks/Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Other