Some American schools are returning to online learning. How will new COVID-19 wave impact Ontario schools?

Waterloo Region has come a long way since students were forced to attend class virtually, but fresh concerns over another global flare-up in COVID-19 cases comes as the flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are also spreading.

“As with most things over the past three years, we’re in mostly uncharted territory with the start of the new school year,” said Todd Coleman, an epidemiologist with Wilfrid Laurier University.

Schools are working with different levels of immunity: some students are up-to-date on vaccinations, others have recently contracted the virus, and a slew of students fall somewhere in between. Add in the other respiratory illnesses that are circulating, said Coleman, and there is some cause for concern.

With the end of comprehensive tracking, the exact number of cases in Ontario is unknown.

Experts now look to wastewater readings to get an idea of what is happening locally.

“If we look to wastewater data for COVID in Ontario, it’s suggestive of a slight uptick in cases, after seeing a relatively stable and low number of infections,” said Coleman.

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• Dec 31, 1969
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• Dec 31, 1969
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“We know now that immunity from prior COVID infection and vaccination is not permanent, so we can naturally expect a rise once schools let students back in.”

Schools that have opened in the United States this month might offer a road map of how to handle surging case numbers.

Some school boards in Kentucky and Texas have moved back to virtual learning, reverting to a pandemic playbook Ontario students haven’t seen since the peak of restrictions.

Coleman doesn’t necessarily see Ontario following suit, but stressed the importance of strategies such as masking and air quality monitoring to help mitigate infections.

After three years living with COVID-19, public health experts differ on how society should approach the virus.

Some believe we have moved to the “new normal,” where COVID-19 is just another virus to watch, said Craig Janes, University of Waterloo School of Public Health director.

He isn’t so sure.

“We still don’t know enough about the serious long-term effects of COVID, so I think it’s premature to consign it to the category of ‘just another virus,’ ” he said.

The Waterloo Region District School Board is maintaining key measures like increased cleaning, handwashing and using outdoor spaces when possible.

All schools at the Waterloo Catholic District School Board underwent a deep clean, and there were several capital upgrades and HVAC system improvements, said Catholic board spokesperson Lema Salaymeh.

During the school year, it will continue to maintain HEPA/UV filters in all learning spaces, will run HVAC systems before and after school hours, and will use higher-grade HVAC filters where possible.

“When it comes to how we might respond to a COVID-19 surge caused by the latest Omicron variants, as always, we take our direction from Region of Waterloo Public Health,” said Salaymeh.

Schools will remain mask-friendly, she said, and vaccines are still encouraged.

Last year, long-standing staff shortages bubbled over as more teachers were forced to take time off due to illness.

The problem persists, said Jeff Pelich, president of Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario Waterloo Region, but there have been signs of some progress.

“The staffing shortages situation improved during the last school year, with the WRDSB working to hire more occasional teachers,” he said. “We hope they will continue to be proactive in finding solutions to this problem at both a local and provincial level.”

The most common concern he hears now from teachers is about air quality.

It can be costly for cash-strapped school boards, but air filtration systems are key.

“Things like vaccinations, masking in closed environments, and creating and sustaining good ventilation systems and practices in schools — air monitoring, improving air quality through HEPA filtration systems, opening windows, outdoor work as much as possible — can go a long way to keeping students and their families as healthy as possible,” said Janes.