Local school boards taking different approaches on COVID-19 notifications to families
As in-person classes resume this week, Waterloo Region’s largest publicly funded school boards appear to be taking different approaches when it comes to COVID-19 exposures at their schools.
WRDSB TO NOTIFY IMPACTED CLASSES
In a notice sent to parents Monday night, the Waterloo Region District School Board said it will continue to inform impacted classes “when schools become aware of a positive PCR or Rapid Antigen Test result for COVID-19.”
“We want to assure you that we will do our best to continue to provide as much information and transparency as possible when it comes to COVID-19 at WRDSB schools,” the notice read. “Our highest priority is to ensure the safety of our students and staff members.”
The WRDSB notice further said “while individual classes will continue to be notified of a possible exposure to COVID-19, the 'Confirmed Cases of COVID-19' page on the WRDSB website will no longer be updated.”
WCDSB NOT NOTIFYING FAMILIES
The head of the Waterloo Catholic District School Board said in an email to CTV News “we will not be notifying families of potential exposures.”
“WCDSB is following the direction of the Chief Medical Officer of Health and Waterloo Region Public Health, and the practice of the majority of boards across the province,” said Loretta Notten, Director of Education for the WCDSB.
Notten noted the guidance is for staff and students to closely monitor for symptoms, and that local public health is no longer following up on individual cases
Notten also pointed out that principals will be busy dealing with staffing challenges and at many schools have a single administrator so “it is too much to place on an administrator to have to carry out their own significant duties at this busy time, and also expect them to act as Public Health.”
PROVINCIAL GUIDANCE
This comes after the Ministry of Education announced earlier this month that the province will no longer report COVID-19 cases in schools.
New guidance from the province states that schools will not be routinely notifying students in classes with a positive case due to “to widespread transmission and inability to test all symptomatic individuals.
The province also said parents will only be notified of a potential COVID-19 outbreak when approximately 30 per cent of staff and student are absent from their school.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Most of Canada to receive emergency alert test today
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
'A huge difference': These adults born in the '90s partnered with their parents to buy homes in Ontario
An Ontario woman said it would have been impossible to buy a house without her mother – an anecdote that animates the fact that over 17 per cent of Canadian homeowners born in the ‘90s own their property with their parents, according to a new report.
OPINION What King Charles' schedule being too 'full' to accommodate son suggests about relationship with Prince Harry
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
Boy Scouts of America is rebranding. Here's why they're now named Scouting America
After more than a century, Boy Scouts of America is rebranding as Scouting America, another major shakeup for an organization that once proudly resisted change.
How Drake and Kendrick Lamar's rap beef escalated within weeks
A long-simmering feud between hip-hop superstars Drake and Kendrick Lamar reached a boiling point in recent days as the pair traded increasingly personal insults on a succession of diss tracks. Here’s a quick overview of what’s behind the ongoing beef.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Ontario man devastated to learn $150,000 line of credit isn't insured after wife dies
An Ontario man found out that a line of credit he thought was insured actually isn't after his wife of 50 years died.
NEW For their protection, immigrants critical of China and India call for speedy passage of Canada's foreign interference legislation
Canadian immigrants threatened by hostile regimes are urging parliamentarians to quickly pass the 'Countering Foreign Interference Act' so they can feel safe living in their adopted home.
Spanish prosecutors recommend 2nd investigation into Shakira's taxes be thrown out
Spanish state prosecutors recommended Wednesday that an investigating judge shelve a probe into another alleged case of tax fraud by pop star Shakira.