The Kingston-area’s chief medical officer of health tried to reassure parents Thursday evening that it’s still safe to send their kids to school despite a spike in COVID-19 cases.
In a release, KFLA public health said, “we are confident in the school’s protocols and recognize the importance of keeping schools open for the mental, social, and physical well being of all students.”
There’s been a recent rise of COVID cases in local schools, with more than 20 cases reported by the Limestone School Board in the last week. COVID outbreaks have been declared at R.G. Sinclair and John Graves Simcoe elementary schools.
A dozen cases have been detected at Sinclair, and five more have been confirmed at Simcoe since the weekend.
Dr. Pitor Oglaza says public health is seeing transmission “outside” the school environment. He’s strongly urging parents to avoid things like play dates and sleepovers.
“These exposures and transmissions based on our investigation happen outside of the schools – settings like home or various activities that youth are taking outside of the school system. These interactions happen without any public health measures, in close proximity,” he said in a YouTube video.
The Limestone District School Board said they are working together with public health and are following their directions on how to manage the recent outbreaks.
LDSB director, Krishna Burra said, “I think the main thing (is) these types of measures are really important when they’re combined, and that strategies are in place to try to make sure that learning takes place, (that) schools are able to remain open. But ultimately public health manages these cases and they have the best viewpoint in terms of investigating.”
Public Health reiterated the importance of monitoring for symptoms, especially among those who are unvaccinated.
“It is strongly recommended that even if students/staff are attending school with a single symptom (e.g., runny nose) they should avoid socializing at unstructured activities.”