WRDSB issues messaging for families as measles continues to circulate

As measles continues to spread through the community, Waterloo Region’s public school board has issued messaging to students and families.

The Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) released a statement Tuesday, saying it understands the recent confirmed measles cases at public schools may be worrying.

“We continue to work closely with Region of Waterloo Public Health in an effort to provide transparent updates in a timely manner, ” reads the WRDSB statement. “This rapidly evolving public health concern sometimes makes it challenging to share updates, but we continue to follow the direction of Public Health in our communications and are committed to providing updates as soon as possible.”

The public school board said that whenever there is a confirmed measles case associated with one of its schools, staff work with public health to identify those who were impacted and notify them.

Part of that involves confirming students’ vaccination status, which may require Region of Waterloo Public Health to contact parents and caregivers.

The board stresses it is following all protocols and that health and well-being remain the top priority in its schools.

Families are encouraged to review their child’s vaccination status and contact their healthcare provider if they have questions.

There have been a few measles exposures linked to public schools in Waterloo Region, including two that led to temporary closures at Kitchener high schools earlier this month.