Education officials say planning, protocols, and preparedness have helped to keep COVID-19 from spreading through schools in the community.
John Howitt, Director of Education with the Lambton Kent District School Board says it takes a village.
“Cooperation from Public Health, to the school boards, to the municipality, to families, to the health care system, to caring grandparents and aunts and uncles,” Howitt says. “It has to truly take the whole village of a recognition to keep us all safe, both during school hours and outside school hours.”
Deb Crawford, Director of the St Clair Catholic District School Board, says that while the virus has cropped up in a handful of schools this fall, it hasn’t been able to spread.
“We’re really heartened by the effectiveness of precautions that have been put in place at the board. When we have had positive cases, it’s been limited and protocols in place have kept everyone else healthy and safe, and we have not had outbreaks at our schools.”
Public health officials expect students at St Anne in Blenheim and UCC, who’ve been in quarantine since October 20th, should be able to return to school early next week.
Two classes were sent home from Tecumseh Public School last week as well, and the LKDSB says they should be allowed back sometime next week.
47 students from McNaughton Avenue Public School in Chatham remain at home because of one confirmed case in a grade 6/7 class.
Just over a dozen students were sent home from CKSS earlier this week as well because of potential contact with a presumed case. However, the LKDSB now says that case has been cleared and students will be heading back to class.