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Return to school

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Home/.../Infection and Disease/COVID-19/Return to school

chalkboard drawing of pencils, scissors, calculator

COVID-19 school and child care screening tool

Know when to self-monitor, self-isolate or send your child to school

Please note: Symptomatic children or school staff, who have a known exposure to a case of COVID-19 during their infectious period or have travelled in the past 14 days, (and their household contacts) must self-isolate pending the test result of the symptomatic individual and not attend work or school until the symptomatic individual(s) receive a negative test. 

If the symptomatic individual has no known exposure or recent travel, household contacts would self-monitor awaiting test results of the symptomatic individual. Household contacts do not need to be tested unless they also have symptoms.

On this page

  • Resources for school administrators
  • Frequently asked questions
  • Resources
    • Posters
    • Videos
    • Important tools for parents

Please check the school board websites for additional details on schools re-opening:

  • Waterloo Region District School Board
  • Waterloo Catholic District School Board
  • Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir (Roman Catholic separate, French-language school board)
  • Conseil scolaire Viamonde (French-language public school board)

Resources for school administrators

  • COVID-19 guidance: school outbreak management
  • COVID-19 school and child care screening tool
    • COVID-19 school and child care screening tool in other languages
  • Decision Making Tree for Key School Contacts - Staff
    • Scenario Chart - Staff
  • Decision Making Tree for Key School Contacts - Student
    • Scenario Chart - Student
  • Guide to reopening Ontario’s schools
  • Operational guidance: COVID-19 management in schools
  • Parent Communications for School Boards
  • Staff Communications for School Boards
  • Telehealth Ontario
  • Translated COVID-19 resources

For private school administrators, visit our resources for private schools webpage. 

Frequently asked questions

For school administrators

What should school staff do if they have COVID-19 symptoms?

  • If you have one or more symptoms of COVID-19, you should not attend school, self-isolate at home, and get tested. Follow your school board policy to report your absence and symptoms.
  • Household contacts do not need to be tested unless they also have symptoms or have been advised by Public Health to seek testing.
  • The guidance for your return to school and direction for other household members while awaiting your test results, will depend if you had a known exposure to a case of COVID-19 during their infectious period or have travelled in the past 14 days. See the guidance below for further direction.
    • If you have a known exposure to a case of COVID-19 during their infectious period or have travelled in the past 14 days, you and your household contacts must self-isolate while waiting for your test results.
      • If the result is positive, Public Health will contact you.
      • If you get a negative test result you must continue to self-isolate for 14 days from your last exposure. Others in the same household can return to school and should self-monitor.
      • If you are not tested or assessed by a health care provider (please refer to your employer for specific work policies), you must self-isolate for 10 days from symptom onset or 14 days from your last exposure, whichever is longest.
    • If you have no known exposure or recent travel, your household contacts must self-monitor while waiting for your test results.
      • If the result is positive, Public Health will contact you.
      • If you get a negative test result you may return to school when you do not have a fever and once it has been at least 24 hours since your symptoms started improving
      • If you are not tested or assessed by a health care provider (please refer to your employer for specific work policies), you need to self-isolate for 10 days following symptom onset. Household members can self-monitor.

For more information see the staff scenario chart.

What should school staff do if a member of their household has COVID-19 symptoms?

  • If the symptomatic member of your household has a known exposure to a case of COVID-19 during their infectious period or has travelled in the past 14 days, all household members must self-isolate while waiting for the test results of the symptomatic individual. 
    • All household members must not attend work or school while waiting for the test results of the symptomatic individual. 
    • If your household member does not get tested or get an assessment by a health care provider (please refer to your employer for specific work policies), you and your household members will need to self-isolate for 14 days.
  • If the symptomatic member of your household has no known exposure or recent travel, you and other household contacts can attend school and self-monitor while waiting for your test results.
  • Household contacts do not need to be tested unless they also have symptoms or have been advised by Public Health to seek testing.
  • If the result is positive, Public Health will contact the household member and provide specific directions.

For families

What is Public Health’s role in return to school?
  • Helping schools, parents, and children to apply public health measures locally, reducing the risk of spread of COVID-19
    • Supporting the use of provincial school guidance
    • Supporting school boards in development of their re-opening plans
    • Supporting schools to implement strong infection prevention and control practices
    • Providing child-friendly resources to support important measures such as physical distancing, effective hand hygiene, and use of face coverings in schools
  • Leading the management of cases, contacts, and outbreaks in schools
  • Providing extra support to schools with dedicated public health nurses

How will public health measures reduce the spread of COVID-19 in schools?

Following public health measures in schools will support keeping students and staff safe. The most important measures continue to be physical distancing as much as possible, wearing a mask, staying home when sick, and washing hands.

Schools will be doing enhanced cleaning and disinfection of high-touch areas, and using barriers such as plexiglass to reduce the spread. In addition to these preventive measures, in the event of a case of COVID-19 at school, having children in cohorts will help limit spread.

What kind of face covering or mask should we use?

  • The best face covering or mask is the one that fits comfortably.
  • A cloth mask should be made with two or more layers of fabric and be easy to breathe through.
  • It should be large enough to cover the nose, mouth and chin without any gaps.
  • Plastic masks or face shields are not a substitute for cloth masks.
  • Masks should be stored in something breathable like a paper bag, fabric bag or envelope that does not retain moisture, if the mask will be worn again.
  • Pack several masks each day and send your child to school with two bags for masks, one labelled "clean" and one "dirty."
    • Instruct your child to put their mask in the "dirty" bag if it gets wet or soiled, and to use a new, clean mask.
  • Wash the masks at the end of each day before reuse.

Does the Regional face covering by-law apply to schools?

The Region of Waterloo’s face covering by-law does not apply to schools. Schools are under provincial jurisdiction (the Ministry of Education) and Region of Waterloo by-laws do not apply.

Visit your school board's website for more information on their face covering policies:

  • WRDSB
  • WCDSB
  • Conseil scolaire Viamonde
  • Conseil scolarie catholique MonAvenir 

How will masks be enforced in schools?

Visit your school board's website for more information on their face covering policies:

  • WRDSB
  • WCDSB
  • Conseil scolaire Viamonde
  • Conseil scolarie catholique MonAvenir 

How will physical distancing be managed on buses? 

Visit your school board's website for more information on transportation:

  • WRDSB
  • WCDSB
  • Conseil scolaire Viamonde
  • Conseil scolarie catholique MonAvenir 

How will classrooms be set-up?

Visit your school board's website for more information on classrooms:

  • WRDSB
  • WCDSB
  • Conseil scolaire Viamonde
  • Conseil scolarie catholique MonAvenir 

If my child is sick, how do I get them tested?

Use the COVID-19 School and Child Care Screening Tool to determine if your child should be tested. 

Visit the Assessment and Testing Centre webpage for information about testing in Waterloo Region.

If my child is sick, does everyone in our household need to get tested?

Household contacts do not need to be tested unless they also have symptoms or have been advised by Public Health to seek testing.

Use the COVID-19 School and Child Care Screening Tool to determine if your child should be tested. 

If my child is off sick, when can they return to school or child care?

Use the COVID-19 School and Child Care Screening Tool to determine when your child can return to school 

My child had symptoms, but no longer does, can they still get tested?

If the COVID-19 School and Child Care Screening Tool says your child should be tested, your child can still get tested even if their symptoms have resolved because they have been directed to seek testing before they can return to school. 

My child has a runny nose, what should I do?
If your child’s only symptom is a runny nose, you should keep your child home and monitor their symptoms as you would in any other year. When they feel better, they are ready to go back to school/child care and no COVID-19 testing is needed. If they get worse or develop other symptoms, you should contact their health care provider for more advice. Mild symptoms known to persist in young children (e.g., runny nose) may be ongoing at time of return to school/child care if other symptoms have been resolved.
Do I need a note from a doctor or a copy of a negative test result before my child goes back to school or child care?
No, you do not need a note from your doctor or proof of a negative test before your child returns to school or child care.
What happens if someone at school gets COVID-19?

If someone at school contracts COVID-19, Public Health will conduct an investigation to determine who had close contact with the individual. Public Health will then contact each person who had close contact and recommend self-isolation at home, as appropriate.

Due to privacy of personal health information, the name of the person who has COVID-19 will not be shared. For more details on what will happen, see the Ministry of Education’s Operational guidance: COVID-19 management in schools.

Care must to be taken to avoid stigmatizing students and staff. Schools should continue to be welcoming, respectful, inclusive and supportive environments for all.

When will an outbreak be declared?

The Province has defined a school outbreak as two or more lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases in students and/or staff in a school with an epidemiological link, within a 14-day period, where at least one case could have reasonably acquired their infection in the school (including transportation and before or after school care).

Public Health will work with the school to determine if an outbreak exists, declare an outbreak, and provide direction on outbreak control measures. For more details on what will happen, see the Ministry of Education’s Operational guidance: COVID-19 management in schools.

Early detection and responding to outbreaks in schools is important for controlling the transmission of the virus in the community. Public Health has a lot of experience helping schools when infectious diseases, such as measles, are detected. Public Health will use this experience when monitoring for potential cases and responding quickly if there is a COVID-19 outbreak in a school.

What is the difference between close contact and high-risk contact?

Close contact and a high-risk contact are the same thing. This is defined as exposure to a positive case for 15 minutes or more without physical distancing or PPE (e.g. masks).

Individuals who know that they are a close contact or a high-risk contact of a confirmed positive case should self-isolate and only call Public Health if you have not heard from us after three days.

Please note that you may receive a call from Public Health Ontario or Statistics Canada who are providing contact tracing support to our health unit.

Will the school close if someone gets COVID-19? 

There is no set number of COVID-19 infections used to determine if a school will need to close. It is not always necessary to shut down the entire classroom or school if there is a case of COVID-19 in the school, and decisions will be based on a risk assessment. Even though an outbreak may be declared in the school, Public Health will assist in determining which cohort(s) may be sent home or if a partial or full school closure is required based on the scope of the outbreak. For more details, see the Ministry of Education’s Operational guidance: COVID-19 management in schools.

It is important to note that if the infection rate in the broader community increases, it could also impact the number of people who get COVID-19 in schools. As a result, for the safety of everyone, there may be a time when schools need to close again.

Will there be Public Health support in the schools?

Region of Waterloo Public Health is establishing a team of approximately 20 nurses who will support the over 200 schools, in Waterloo Region, as they reopen. They will support schools with COVID-19 prevention measures, education, case investigations and contact tracing (if someone at the school develops COVID-19), and outbreak management.

What are the long-term effects of COVID-19 on children?

COVID-19 is a new disease, and we are still learning about the long-term effects. This is why we must take precautions to reduce the spread of infection.

Should students and teachers use the contact tracing app?
Yes, we encourage everyone to use the COVID-19 Alert app. The more people using the app, the better for everyone. If someone gets COVID-19, they will enter a key in the app which will anonymously alert others who may be close contacts to go for testing.

Resources

Important tools for parents

  • COVID-19 school and child care screening tool
    • COVID-19 school and child care screening tool in other languages
  • COVID Alert mobile app
  • Know when to self-monitor, self-isolate or send your child to school fact sheet

Posters

  • How to use hand sanitizer
  • How to wash your hands
  • How to wear a face covering 
  • The Do's and don'ts of wearing a face covering 

Videos

  • How to wash your hands
  • How to wear a face mask
  • How to use hand sanitizer
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