Comparing School reopening in Ontario vs State of Georgia

The World Health Organization has determined that for schools to reopen the positivity rate for Coronavirus should be 5 percent or lower. That means that for every 100 persons tested 5 or less should test positive.  As Ontario prepares to reopen schools the Positivity rate stands at 0.4 percent. The state of Georgia reopened their schools last week while the state was experiencing a COVID positivity rate of 10.8 percent—nearly double the CDC and WHO recommended threshold for safe reopening– and 27 times the positivity rate of Ontario. Not surprisingly Georgia’s school reopening has not been successful. In Georgia’s Cherokee County School District, more than 1,100 students, teachers and staff members are under quarantine after Covid-19 cases were reported. The district began in-person learning August 3, and as of Tuesday reported 59 positive cases. The two-week quarantine period has impacted more than a dozen schools. And in nearby Gwinnett County, the state’s largest school district had to quarantine staff before their doors even opened. At least 263 employees are in quarantine after 28 confirmed cases as of August 5. School began virtually in Gwinnett County on Wednesday. Georgia is still not requiring mask-wearing in schools.

Here are some other COVID -related statistics comparing Ontario with the State of Georgia: