Two COVID-19 outbreaks at a small Guelph school are connected, say local health officials, bringing the current tally to 19 confirmed, interrelated cases.
As of Friday morning, there were 18 cases among École élémentaire Catholique Saint-René-Goupil students and one staff case, explained Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health spokesperson Danny Williamson.
“The number of cases seems to have stabilized somewhat,” he said. “People are being directed to isolate as required.”
An outbreak was declared at the school on Sept. 15, with another announced on Sept. 19. Initially, those were viewed as unrelated outbreaks but have since been merged into a single, ongoing declaration.
In a letter sent to a group of concerned parents on Wednesday, Dr. Matthew Tenenbaum, WDG Public Health’s associate medical officer of health, explained about half of the student infections happened at school and the rest came from household or community transmission.
“Interactions inside and outside of the school setting have both contributed to this outbreak,” he wrote. “That is why it is so important to engage with the larger parent community – like yourselves – to ensure that we are all working together towards a resolution.”
Williamson confirmed the authenticity of the Tenenbaum letter.
The concerned parents, Tenenbaum noted, asked whether PCR (nose swab) or rapid testing would be conducted for the entire school, as well as if the school should be closed due to the outbreak. None of those are in the works, he responded.
“After an outbreak is declared, our case management team conducts an investigation and scrutinizes the details of each case in order to understand how COVID-19 is being transmitted in that particular scenario,” Tenenbaum explained. “We develop an understanding of the outbreak situation and then tailor our response accordingly.”
As an example, he pointed to new requirements announced earlier this week that any non-vaccinated member of a high-risk contact’s household, including siblings, must self-isolate for the same amount of time as the person who was exposed to COVID-19.
“This decision was based on patterns in transmission that we observed at ÉÉC Saint-René-Goupil and in other local outbreaks, where spread within households has played an important role,” Tenenbaum said. “We will continue to monitor this outbreak very closely and take further steps as they are warranted.”
A spokesperson for the school board, Conseil scolaire Catholique MonAvenir, said it will continue to follow public health directives.
