COVID-19 Response
If a COVID-19 case is confirmed in our Centre(s)
The local public health unit will work with us to determine what happens if a COVID-19 case is confirmed in either of our locations (i.e., 301 Lanor Avenue or 432 Horner Avenue).
Communication
1.Check for notices on the New Haven website
We will post a notice on our website if a client or staff member tests positive for COVID-19 in the Service Update section. No personal information will be posted.
2. Email communication will be sent to relevant parties
We will email parent and caregivers, staff, and board members who are directly impacted by the cross exposure to a positive case of COVID-19. No personal information will be provided.
3. Signage may be added to entry and exit doors informing of confirmed cases and required steps as per public health officials.
Working with public health
New Haven will work with public health units to help identify who has been in close contact with a person who tested positive for COVID-19 and when they are reported to us or found within our immediate community.
This means that New Haven may provide the public health unit with a staff’s name and immediate contact or a child’s name and information about their:
• class cohort
• known additional services they cross participate in, if applicable
• child care cohort, if applicable
Schools will provide information in accordance with all applicable legislation, including the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act
If there is risk of exposure
New Haven will respond to the public health unit’s assessment of possible or likely risk of exposure. Those at high risk will need to isolate for 14 days.
If a child or a staff member was in close contact with a person who tested positive, the public health unit will determine whether that the child or staff member must isolate for 14 days. They will also inform whether a child or family are required to get tested for COVID-19 or those in close proximity to a staff member.
If your child is feeling well enough, New Haven will work with you to establish virtual learning activities they can do at home during their 14-day isolation period in alignment with staff and resource access as well as appropriateness of TeleHealth ABA services.
Not everyone may have been exposed
Since New Haven clients are grouped in both centre and within centre class cohorts, the public health unit will work with the senior executive to determine whether or not a child or staff member has been in close contact with a person who tested positive for COVID-19 from another class or part of the centre’s extended learning community.
The public health unit will advise those involved to monitor for symptoms, but clients and staff will be allowed access to the centre as long as they are not ill, they have not been instructed to stay home, and the centre is open.
Closing classes or centre location(s)
If the local public health unit declares an outbreak, they will work with New Haven senior executive to determine what happens next. This could include closing classrooms, cohorts or an entire centre location.
If an outbreak is declared in centre, the public health unit will help determine which groups of clients and staff need to be sent home or if a partial or full centre closure is required.
Declaring an outbreak
An outbreak may be declared by the local public health unit when:
• within a 14-day period, there are two or more laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases in clients, staff or other visitors with an epidemiological link (for example, if cases are in the same class or cohort)
• at least one case could have been infected in the centre
What your local public health unit will do
If an outbreak exists, the local public health unit is responsible for:
• declaring an outbreak
• providing direction on how to control the outbreak
• declaring when an outbreak is over
The local public health unit is responsible for determining:
• if an outbreak exists
• how to manage the outbreak in collaboration with the centre and other relevant partners, such as shared space programs and services
• who to test, in alignment with the province’s broader testing strategy
• who is at high-risk of infection and needs to self-isolate
• if a partial or full centre closure is required
New Haven is working to proactively reduce the risks of COVID-19 cases within our learning community. We will continue to work with all accessible preventative measures and will respond should a case be documented and linked to our centre, its clients, and our staff. We entrust you to maintain that same commitment to communication and prevention as we move forward.
Should you have questions or concerns in relation to the policies, procedures, or responses to COVID-19, please consult the local public health unit in your local community or the government website: https://covid-19.ontario.ca/ for additional information and guidance.