December 20th, 2022

As RSV, influenza and COVID-19 continue to spread across the region, protecting the health and well-being of students and staff continues to be our top priority. One of the ways we can all help reduce the spread of viruses within our schools and workplaces is by wearing a mask.

On Monday, December 19, Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) Trustees ratified a motion to encourage all staff, students and visitors to wear a mask, if they can and whenever they can, until the Region of Waterloo Public Health no longer recommends masks be worn inside public buildings.

WRDSB schools will have masks available to students or staff who need one. Families, students, and staff are also invited to provide and wear their own masks to school, should they choose.

We appreciate your support in this temporary measure and we thank you for your assistance in keeping each other safe.

Public Health Guidance on Masking

Public Health strongly recommends wearing a tight-fitting, well-constructed mask in all indoor public settings as an important way to protect yourself and others.

You should also wear a mask if you:

  • Are recovering from COVID-19 symptoms and are no longer isolating. You should wear a mask for 10 days from when your symptoms started.
  • Have tested positive for COVID-19 and do not have symptoms for 10 days from the positive test result.
  • Have been identified as a close contact of someone with COVID-19 symptoms and/or a positive test result for 10 days from last exposure.

To find more advice on using masks, please visit the Region of Waterloo Public Health website. You can also find up-to-date guidance on masking on the end page of the Ontario School Screener.

Additional Health Guidance

In addition to wearing a mask at WRDSB schools, you can help us keep students and staff safe by following these additional guidelines:

  • Stay home if you are feeling ill.
  • Use the Ontario School Screener each day prior to attending school or the workplace.
  • Practice good hand hygiene and cough and sneeze into your elbow.

The WRDSB continues to do enhanced cleaning and disinfection at our schools and workplaces. We also continue to implement a range of strategies to improve ventilation and filtration in schools and classrooms, investing approximately $53 million in improvements and installing 3,504 HEPA units in WRDSB schools.