Brant County Health Unit declared a COVID-19 outbreak for a bus route that serves Onondaga-Brant Public School and Woodman-Cainsville School in Brantford on Monday, November 15.
As outlined in the Ministry of Education’s Operational Guidance, an outbreak is defined as two or more lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases in students and/or staff in a school with an epidemiological link, within a 14-day period, where at least one case could have reasonably acquired their infection in the school.
The positive cases were identified on November 14, with one case each from Onondaga-Brant and Woodman-Cainsville, connected through the shared bus route. The epidemiological link connected to a bus route exposure was discovered today. Understandably, for privacy reasons, the identity of the COVID-19 cases will not be disclosed.
The Brant County Health Unit has provided further direction and next steps via email to these individuals, including confirmation of their isolation period and instructions for household members. If additional students or staff are impacted, the Brant County Health Unit will advise as soon as possible.
Grand Erie has provided the health unit with class lists, transportation records and childcare information to support case management and contact tracing.
Both schools remain open for those students and staff not required to self-isolate. The bus has been thoroughly cleaned, and it, along with the entire school bus fleet, continues to be disinfected daily.
The outbreak will be closely monitored by the Brant County Health Unit.
