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University of Waterloo returning to pre-pandemic levels of in-person classes for winter term

Click to play video: 'Child dies of COVID-19 in Waterloo Region'
Child dies of COVID-19 in Waterloo Region
A child has died due to COVID-19 in Waterloo Region. As Caryn Lieberman reports, little is known about the child beyond the fact that the death was not school or daycare related – Sep 17, 2021

The University of Waterloo says it is ready to return to pre-pandemic levels of in-person learning for the upcoming winter term.

In a news release on Monday morning, the school cited COVID-19 vaccination rates on campus as the primary reason to move ahead with opening things up.

“More than 95 per cent of more than 30,000 people who have disclosed their vaccine status are fully vaccinated,” the university said.

“A significant portion of the remainder have told us they have already had one dose and will be fully vaccinated by our Oct. 17 deadline.”

The university added that it is hard to predict how the pandemic will change by January, but argued vaccination is the key to getting a post-pandemic experience of teaching and learning.

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Undergraduate course selection is scheduled to open in the coming days and graduate student course selection will be available in December.

Click to play video: 'Experts: unvaccinated risk loss of more than just freedoms'
Experts: unvaccinated risk loss of more than just freedoms

The school added that everyone must remain vigilant by wearing a mask, practising physical distancing and following other public health instructions.

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“As always, our plans will remain flexible in case public health conditions change and we need to scale back in-person experiences,” the university said. “If we need to make changes, we will share information with you as soon as possible.”

It added that while some international students may continue to face barriers in getting into Canada, officials will work with them and the government to address any problems.

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Global News has reached out to Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Guelph to see what their plans are for the winter term.

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