The health and safety of our community at Dance Expression—including staff, students, and visitors—is our first priority. We are closely monitoring the COVID-19 (also known as the coronavirus) situation in Markham, Toronto and around the world, and consulting with the appropriate public health agencies including York Region Public Health. Dance Expression is prepared with detailed plans and procedures should the risk level change in the Markham area.

Dance Expression is taking additional steps to ensure the continued health and safety of all staff, students, and visitors. These include:

1. Various educational signage throughout the facility about protecting yourself and others through healthy hygiene practices
2. Increased frequency in wiping down shared surfaces, which include, but are not limited to, washrooms, door handles, chairs, and tables etc.
3. Placement of sanitizer bottles at the facility for easy access by staff, students, and visitors
4. Monitored entrance and exit of all students, staff, and visitors through the front and back doors
5. Physical distance of 2-metres required between staff, students, and visitors always (face masks and gloves are encouraged)

To help keep the Dance Expression community healthy, we ask that students, staff and visitors who are feeling ill stay home for rest and recuperation. Family members who accompany students inside the School must abide by the same guidelines.  

Staff, students and families considering overseas travel should consult the Public Health Agency of Canada’s website for the most up-to-date travel advisories. The Public Health Agency of Canada is closely monitoring the spread of COVID-19 in other countries and the latest travel advisories can be found on the travel.gc.ca destination page

For those returning from travelling abroad, please consult the Public Health Agency of Canada’s website for the latest and most accurate advice on how to monitor your health when returning to Canada. These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

How to protect yourself and others against flu strains

Good health habits are an important way to help prevent all flu strains, including COVID-19. Help protect yourself and those around you by:

1. Frequently washing your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
2. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth, especially with unwashed hands
3. Staying home if you are sick or feeling any flu-like symptoms
4. When coughing or sneezing:
   1. cover your mouth and nose with your arm or tissues to reduce the spread of germs
   2. immediately dispose of any tissues you have used into the garbage as soon as possible and wash your hands afterwards

More details on COVID-19 prevention and detection

Dance Expression will continue to update this page with additional news or updates for the community regarding the COVID-19 situation. We understand that members of our community may have questions or concerns around the COVID-19 situation and are encouraged to refer to the websites below. For any Dance Expression-specific concerns, please direct your query to: info@danceexpression.ca

We encourage all members of our community to continue to consult the following trusted online resources:

1. York Region Public Health’s Website
2. The Public Health Agency of Canada’s Website
3. The World Health Organization’s Website