Wilfrid Laurier reports 15 COVID-19 cases among students over 2-week span

Fifteen students at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo have tested positive for COVID-19 over the past two weeks, the school reported Tuesday.

The latest cases involves a student living on residence who is said to be currently in self-isolation.

There were no further details provided about the latest case, citing privacy concerns.

“The Laurier community can rest assured the university has in place rigorous protocols for sanitizing and cleaning campus areas since the beginning of the pandemic,” the school said as it announced the latest case.

“In addition, all members of the Laurier community are reminded to follow public health guidelines and on-campus safety protocols to protect themselves and others from the spread of the virus.”

The newest cases has not yet been linked to a COVID-19 outbreak at Clara Conrad Hall, a school residence where two cases resulted in an outbreak being declared on Saturday. A third case has since been linked to the outbreak.

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That outbreak was linked by Waterloo Public Health to a series of get-togethers held by students between March 4 and 7 at three homes in the area.

The agency reported that there were at least 23 COVID-19 cases linked to the get-togethers in which students were not wearing masks or following proper social distancing rules.

An outbreak in a University of Waterloo residence (Claudette Millar Hall) with two COVID-19 cases was connected to the get-togethers.

The school has seen two other COVID-19 cases reported since March 12 including one on Tuesday.

Neither has been connected to the incident by Waterloo Public Health.

Tuesday’s announcement from the school said the case involved “one individual who had visited our campus” on March 12.

“The individual has remained in self-isolation since their positive test and officials contacted all close contacts,” the school wrote.