7 Thursday,January 27,2022 durham region.com905.725.3695 www.deegandentureclinics.com Denture Services SAME DAY REPAIRS & RELINES COMPLETE & PARTIAL DENTURES IMPLANT SUPPORTED DENTURES FREE CONSULTATIONS & NO OBLIGATION DENTURES CRAFTED ON-SITE Quality dentures with Exceptional service 4 GENERATIONS www.deeganhearingclinic.com Rechargeable Hearing Aids, No More Batteries! Hearing Services HEARING TESTS & NO-OBLIGATION CONSULTATIONS NEWEST IN HEARING AID TECHNOLOGY "MASK-FRIENDLY" HEARING AID SOLUTIONS (NOTHING BEHIND THE EAR AND RECHARGEABLE!) TINNITUS SOLUTIONS ON-SITE HEARING AID REPAIR & CLEANING Amy Deegan, HIS, Hons BA Sarah Deegan, DD Philip Deegan, DD Brian Deegan, DD 905.240.50551031 Simcoe St. N Oshawa Covid Safety Protocols in Place Hearing Services Hearing TesTs & no-obligaTion ConsulTaTions newesT in Hearing aid TeCHnology "Mask-Friendly" Hearing aid soluTions (noTHing beHind THe ear and reCHargeable!) TinniTus soluTions wax reMoval on-siTe Hearing aid repair & Cleaning As Durham students head back to in-person classes, local school boards are piecing together plans to keep families informed about COVID-19 in schools -- a task made difficult now that PCR testing is largely unavailable and the province has stopped collecting and reporting school data. The Durham District School Board has announced it will publicly report when any school has an absence rate that reach-es 15 per cent or more. School boards have been directed by Ontario's chief medical officer of health to report when a school has an absence rate of 30 per cent or more, so the health department can advise on next steps. The province says data on school absence rates will be available on its website on Jan. 24. DDSB trustees also voted Jan. 5 in favour of a motion from Whitby trustee Niki Lundquist that will see the board report school COVID-19 case data to whatever extent is possible. Starting Jan. 19, the DDSB will publicly report the following information on its website: school absenteeism over 15 per cent; schools closed due to operational needs or closed by the health department; number of self-reported staff and students absent with illness; and number of self-reported positive PCR or rapid tests from staff or students. Families will get instructions soon on how to report if their child is sick or has a positive COVID test result. "Our goal is to be as transparent as possible with families with this data," the DDSB notes in a Jan. 14 update to families. "This data will be self-reported by parents/guard- ians and/or staff through normal absence reporting processes and we cannot guarantee the accuracy of it. It is meant to be a snapshot of the current COVID-19 situation and absences due to illness in schools and workplaces for the previous school day." At the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board, which includes public schools in Clarington, officials say "as part of our commitment to support student and staff safety and open communication, when we are informed of possible COVID exposures as a result of positive rapid antigen tests or PCR tests, we will share that information with affected classes/staff and/or buses." The Durham Catholic District School Board is "actively participating in discussions with the Durham Region Health Department and Durham District School Board to exploring further data reporting options that will provide accurate and useful information to the public." A total of 875 COVID cases were reported in Durham schools between September and December 2021, as well as close to 70 school outbreaks. SCHOOL BOARDS WORKING ON WAYS TO GET COVID DATA TO FAMILIES JILLIAN FOLLERT jfoller t@durhamregion.com NEWS The Durham District School board will publicly report when any of its schools has an absence rate of 15 per cent or more. Jason Liebregts/Metroland Durham families are being advised that school bus driver absences due to COVID-19 could lead to bus routes being temporarily cancelled as a last resort. "Parents, students, and school communities need to be aware that it may be necessary to cancel bus runs on a temporary basis if we experience high rates of driver absences," says a Jan. 14 notice from Durham Student Transportation Services, which buses more than 18,000 students from the Durham District School Board and Durham Catholic District School Board. Families are encouraged to check the DSTS website daily for updates and create an account to receive automatic updates on delays and cancellations. DSTS says if a route is temporarily cancelled due to COVID, the cancellation could last up to five days. A similar notice was shared by Student Transportation Services of Central Ontario, which buses students in Clarington, noting "school routes may temporarily be suspended in the event that there are driver shortages." SCHOOL BUS ROUTES IN DURHAM COULD BE TEMPORARILY CANCELLED DUE TO COVID CANCELLING ROUTES WOULD BE A 'LAST RESORT' OFFICIALS SAY