Waterloo public health officials reveal plans in case of school outbreak

Region of Waterloo Public Health says an outbreak will be declared in a school if there are two or more positive cases. 

In a press briefing Tuesday, Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang, the region's Acting Medical Officer of Health, says the health department will be working with local schools to stop the spread of the virus. 

She said the health department received school outbreak management guidance from the province last week. 

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To determine whether there is an outbreak at a school, Dr. Wang says the health department will be seeing if there is "an epidemiological link" between cases within a 14 day period. 

"This means we are looking for a connection between the two or more cases, where at least one case could have reasonably acquired their infection in the school setting," she said. 

She added an outbreak would be declared over if there are no additional cases within a 14 day period. 

When to consider shutdown 

Dr. Wang says she expects to see an increase of cases as schools open up next week. 

She said public health officials will consider closing down a school if the outbreak is widespread and can't be brought under control. 

"That might always be an option, but we hope not to implement that option, obviously," she said. 

"We would likely see that if there was a sense that there was uncontrolled transmission in multiple school settings." 

'Anxious when things are new' 

With schools beginning to reopen next week, Dr. Wang said she appreciates the efforts of school boards and parents in preparation for reentry to school because they have had to adapt to "challenging times." 

She added that the new school safety measures can be particularly stressful and worrisome for both students and parents, especially with schools having been closed for nearly six months. 

However, Dr. Wang said students may become less anxious as they get used to the new reality in school.

"I think as we get more experience with the return to school, and it becomes a bit more normalized, some of that anxiety may start to decrease a little just because of the fact that we are all more anxious when things are new and there are more unknowns and we haven't seen what it can look like tangibly," she said. 

Dr. Wang advised parents to consult with their healthcare providers if their kids continue to feel anxious about school.

"It's good to talk about some of the concerns and fears openly," she said.