Linwood Public School 1st local school closed by Region of Waterloo Public Health

Region of Waterloo Public Health has closed Linwood Public School starting Monday, Dec. 7,as a COVID-19 precautionary measure. Students will continue their studies virtually, said the school district.

An alert from the Waterloo Region District School Board late Friday did not specify how long the closure would be but said if families require devices to complete online learning they will provided for however long the closure lasts.

The health unit said the decision was made due to the level of coronavirus community transmission in the area, not due to spread within the school.

"Public health has directed the closure as a result of student absenteeism rates trending upwards. We know from our attendance tracking that many of the current absences are as a result of families isolating at the recommendation of public health," said the statement from the board.

Linwood Public School is a rural school, located 20 kilometres north-west of Waterloo. It serves students from Junior Kindergarden to Grade 8.

"We are a diverse school with children from different places in Canada and the world. We also host a large population of Dave Martin Mennonites as well as Low German Mennonites," says the school on its website.

On Monday, Region of Waterloo Public Health ordered the closure of all Old-Order Mennonite churches and schools in the area after more than 200 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in community members in the last three weeks.

While staff will have access to the school, it will be closed to students, families and visitors.