Schools in Waterloo region seeing a rise in COVID-19 cases

The number of students testing positive for COVID-19 is gradually going up in Waterloo region.

On Tuesday,the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) said one student at Preston High School in Cambridge had tested positive for the virus. There were also two students at Cameron Heights Collegiate Institute in Kitchener and one student at Forest Hill Public School in Kitchener.

On Monday, WRDSBhad schools that each had one student test positive for COVID-19: Forest Heights Collegiate Institute,Huron Heights Secondary School, Williamsburg Public School andClemens Mills Public School.

Cases were previously reported in otherschools includeRiverside Public School, which has one case of a student with COVID-19andEdna Staebler Public School, where one staff member tested positive in early September.

"In the event that public health advises the WRDSB that a class, cohort or school should be closed for a period of time, parents, students and staff will be notified immediately," the board said on its website.

"If there is a case at your school and you are not contacted by Region of Waterloo Public Health, your child is not considered a high-risk contact."

WRDSB is also changingthe due date for families of elementary school students to request a change in learning mode. The new deadline is set for this Friday.

The Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) has logged one student case of COVID-19 atSt. Anne Catholic Elementary School inCambridge on Sept.16.

WCDSB also said parents,students and staff will be notified immediately if a class, cohort or school would be closed for a period of time.

An outbreakis declared in a school when there are two or more lab-confirmed COVID-19 casesamong students and/or staff in a school within a 14-day period so long as the cases appear to have "an epidemiological link." That could mean the people involved are in the same class, the same after-school care group or the same school bus.

An entire schoolmay also be shut downif the local public health unit finds evidence of "potential widespread transmission," such as a number of positive cases with no known source outside the school.