With the new school year ramping up, Lambton Public Health is hiring additional staff.
Medical Officer of Health Dr. Sudit Ranade said they're required to increase their staffing capacity under Ontario's Plan for Safe Reopening of Schools.
"We're actively recruiting some new staff to onboard and we're going to essentially boost our infection prevention and control and outbreak management capabilities," said Ranade. "We're also looking to boost and support testing capabilities for students."
Dr. Ranade said they'll be releasing further details including the number of additional staff being hired, in the near future.
As senior kindergarten to Grade 8 students began a staggered return to school Thursday, Dr. Ranade said the probability of COVID-19 cases getting into schools locally right now is very low.
He told Sue Storr on CHOK (103.9 FM, 1070 AM) Thursday morning that coughs, sneezes or stuffy noses aren't likely to be COVID because community transmission is currently under control.
"There are protocols in schools to keep those kids or staff isolated and then to get them tested, but the probability right now is very low. That's not to say that it's impossible, what we need to keep in mind is, as the number of cases rises the probability that you might bring a COVID case into the school goes up, which means it's so important if you think your kid isn't going to make it through the school day, don't give them a dose of Advil and send them to school, keep them home."
There are currently just three active cases in Sarnia-Lambton, but Dr. Ranade said they're actively monitoring the provincial trend that's seen triple-digit increases daily for the past week to 10 days.
He said the increase is not unexpected as restrictions are eased, and a lot of the new cases are being driven by social behaviour, gatherings, parties, weddings and so on.
-With files from Colin Gowdy
