A Waterloo elementary school reopened Tuesday after a staff member tested positive for the coronavirus last week, a Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) official confirmed to Global News.
Late Sunday night, the board announced that a staff member at Edna Staebler Public School in the city of Waterloo had tested positive for the virus.
It says the staff member was last in the building on Sept. 3.
“Facilities staff coordinated a cleaning crew to focus on common areas and touchpoints,” WRDSB spokesperson Alana Russell told Global News through email Tuesday morning.
She says staff have returned to work at the school on Bernay Drive.
There were no additional details provided about the individual who tested positive due to privacy concerns.
The board says Public Health has investigated and does not believe there is a high risk of spread in this case.
“They confirmed that they have investigated and determined that there are no high-risk contacts within the school during the case’s period of communicability,” a statement from the board read.
“Public Health has also noted that exposure risk to others in the school is low given the layers of infection prevention protocols and measures in place at the school observed by the individual and by school staff.”
The region’s top doctor praised everyone involved for how the situation was handled.
“This was a situation where people did the right things,” Dr. Hsiu- Li Wang, Waterloo Region’s acting chief medical officer of health, said. “Someone felt like they needed to be tested. They were tested. They took appropriate precautions.
“The school had appropriate measures. The staff took appropriate precautions and it was a low-risk situation. It rolled out the way we would have hoped.”
She said her team would continue to keep a close eye on the situation.
The board says Public Health will be in touch with anyone it believes may be at high risk.