In an email sent out to the parents of students at Sir Winston Churchill, principal Ann Gilmore has confirmed an individual there has tested positive for COVID-19.
Nine schools in Niagara have now been affected by the pandemic that has resulted in 11 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus since Sept. 8.
Of those cases, six are from the public board, four from the Catholic board and one from the French-Catholic board, resulting in five classroom shutdowns. All five of the classroom shutdowns have come from the public board.
For Sir Winston in the south end of St. Catharines, Gilmore said Monday, “Niagara Region Public Health is currently assessing the situation, and if your child is required to self-isolate, NRPH will contact you directly this evening. If you are not contacted by NRPH, your child will not need to self-isolate and may continue to attend school.”
Gilmore would not indicate if the individual was a staff member or student but she did advise parents that public health is assessing the situation.
Gilmore said “facility services” will complete a thorough cleaning of the school.
“We will continue to be vigilant as a school community with our preventative practices, such as wearing PPE, physical distancing, hand hygiene, and daily health screening,” she said.
Also Monday, MonAvenir Catholic Schools confirmed a COVID-19 case at Sacré-Coeur Catholic elementary school in Welland.
District School Board of Niagara schools with confirmed cases include Ferndale Elementary School, William Hamilton Merritt Elementary School and Sir Winston in St. Catharines and Eastdale Secondary School in Welland, which has reported three cases.
Niagara Catholic District School Board schools with confirmed cases are Canadian Martyrs Catholic Elementary School and Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School in St. Catharines, and Mary Ward Catholic Elementary School and St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Elementary School in Niagara Falls.
Sean Vanderklis is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter for the Niagara Falls Review, covering education issues across Niagara. His reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.
Sean Vanderklis, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Niagara Falls Review
