TORONTO -- As more and more schools across Ontario open their doors in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic Toronto’s top doctor is outlining how exactly the city will respond if and when students become infected with the novel coronavirus. 

Speaking at a news conference on Monday, Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health Dr. Eileen de Villa said that while she is “certain” there will be new cases identified in the classroom, the process that comes afterwards is key in preventing the spread of COVID-19 in the city’s schools.

“Typically, the first to know about a confirmed infection is the person who has the infection themselves, or in this case their parent,” de Villa said.

Like any medical information, de Villa said, COVID-19 test results are private so the onus will be on the parent or guardian to notify the school immediately if their child tests positive for the virus.

“You must let the school know and keep your child at home in self-isolate,” she said, while detailing the next steps.

First, de Villa said, the school system will contact Toronto Public Health and inform them of the infection.

Next, de Villa said a member of her team will contact the parent or guardian soon after to guide them through the following days and weeks in order to best practice the public health measures currently in place for the city.

Finally, de Villa says the most important step will be leaning on the infected student and their family for help in contact tracing.

“This is so important to help limit the risk to other people,” de Villa said. “We will make a quick decision about whether the facts indicate an infected student or class needs to be kept at home to self-isolate and we will contact you if the decision applies to you and your child.”

De Villa said that if your child is not part of the affected class or cohort, they can continue to attend school as usual, but added that parents or guardians should monitor their child for any signs of illness.

“Remember, anyone who is at high risk is contacted first to get them into self-isolation and away from other people,” she said.

The comments come as the Toronto District School Board, the biggest school board in Canada, prepares to welcome back some of its elementary students on Tuesday and the remaining secondary students on Thursday.

There are currently 15 lab-confirmed cases in Ontario schools that have already reopened.

Despite that, de Villa says that there isn’t a “single number or indicator” that would force the city to shut schools down.

“What will make our schools most successful is reduce the amount of virus spread that’s happened writ large,” she said.

“The lower the level of virus transmission in our community, the more successful, the safer the school environment will be. I do expect that we will see cases in our school environment, the issue is can we keep the levels in our community low enough to allow our schools to operate as safely as possible.”

The province of Ontario logged 313 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, the highest number in 14 weeks.