the number of students and staff with confirmed cases of covid-19 at ottawa schools continues to rise. most of the cases are at the two french-language boards, where classes resumed earlier.
as of tuesday night, 54 active cases of the disease had been identified at 36 schools in the four ottawa-based boards. that’s up from a total of 43 active cases a day earlier.
however, most schools have only a single case, and the majority of schools have none. there are 328 schools at the four ottawa boards.
public health officials had warned to expect a surge of covid-19 cases this fall as schools reopen and more people head indoors.
the province is already battling a fourth wave of covid-19 fuelled by the highly contagious delta variant.
ottawa schools have reopened with some of the same pandemic precautions that were in place last year, such as mask requirements, hand-washing and cohorting of elementary students, who eat lunch and have recess with their class.
in addition, students over age 12 are eligible to be vaccinated for covid-19, which is key in protecting schools from the virus.
but at the same time, the provincial back-to-school pandemic protocols have been relaxed to allow for a more normal school year, so there is more mixing among students, a return to full-time school for high school students and the possibility for extracurricular activities to return.