Letter to parents from Public Health – back to school
September 3, 2020
Please see below for a letter to parents/guardians from Dr. Nicola Mercer, Medical Officer of Health and CEO of Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health. You can download the letter by clicking the link below, or scroll down to read the letter on this page.
Dear Parent or Guardian,
I know that planning to send your children back to school this fall comes with more questions, concerns and anxiety than previous years. Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health is working closely with our school board partners to make back to school as safe as possible and will continue to do so throughout the fall as we identify new ways to keep students, teachers and staff safe.
What is Public Health doing to help keep students, teachers and staff safe as schools reopen?
- Working directly with schools to maximize public health safety measures in all indoor and outdoor spaces.
- Visiting every school in September to identify safe practices and layouts.
- Providing direct access to school nurses and other health professionals for every principal.
- Supporting schools with case management and guidance for any case of COVID-19.
What can you do to help keep your child and their school as safe as possible from COVID-19?
- Practice wearing face coverings with your children so they are ready to wear them at school.
- Download the COVID Alert mobile app on your family’s mobile phones to alert you to possible exposure.
- Prepare for hand hygiene in school by teaching your children to use alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- Keep children home when they are sick to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Safely reopening our schools is only possible if our entire community acts together to ensure the transmission rates of COVID-19 remain as low as possible in our region. Low infections rates will mean less chance of infections in our schools and more resources to manage outbreaks of the virus. It is important that all community members continue to maintain social distancing, wear face coverings, have good hand hygiene and stay home if unwell. Please download the COVID-19 Alert app which will notify you if you have been in close contact with a positive case and whether you should be tested.
I look forward to continuing working with our school partners, community stakeholders and individual families as we take our best step forward. You can find out more on how our region is planning for a safe back to school by visiting www.wdgpublichealth.ca/backtoschool.
Sincerely,
Dr. N. J. Mercer, MD, MBA, MPH, FRCPC C.Dir.
Medical Officer of Health and CEO
Categories: News Tags: COVID-19 • Reopening Schools