Classes closed due to COVID-19 cases at 2 York Region schools

Vaughan's Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Elementary School, Carrville Mills Public School see several classes closed

Yorkregion.com
October 9, 2020
Dina Al-Shibeeb
YorkRegion.com

York Catholic District School Board has shut down eight classes at Vaughan’s Our Lady Of Fatima Catholic Elementary School after five confirmed cases at the facility.

This brings to the total to 15 shut classes and 16 COVID-19 cases at YCDSB schools.

The news comes after YCDSB said Oct. 7 its elementary school students will be part of a hybrid classroom that blends in-class students with remote students as the board moves to "reorganize" its class structures.

The board cited "operational and staffing challenges" with separate face-to-face and online classes, saying a solution was needed for the remainder of the school year.

It’s much larger public counterpart, York Region District School Board has now shut "several" classes at Carrville Mills Public School in Thornhill

"We have informed the school community that York Region Public Health is currently investigating a probable case, following a confirmed case, of COVID-19 involving Carrville Mills PS," board spokesperson Licinio Miguelo said.

"As a precautionary measure, our local public health has advised close contacts of these cases to self-isolate," he said, noting this includes some classes at the school.

"While we appreciate this is concerning, we understand that the risk to others who were at the school on this day is low because of health and safety measures in place, which include mask wearing and frequent hand sanitizing. In addition to our regular twice daily cleaning of high-touch surfaces, additional cleaning of affected areas continue to be undertaken."

The school remains open and safe to attend for all students and staff who are not required to self-isolate, Miguelo said.

YRDSB also had to deal with rumours earlier in the week.

In a show of heightened anxiety, a tweet, which was later deleted, claimed that a whopping 150 students and teachers had COVID-19 at a YRDSB school.

The tweet garnered 630 likes and 231 retweets as of Oct. 5 at noon.

However, Miguelo outright rejected this rumour as false.

There is only one confirmed case at the high school in question, Miguelo said.

"The number of students asked to self-isolate as a result of this case are 10 or fewer, and as such, I cannot provide the actual number to protect the privacy of those students," he added.

He also said in that particular case, the virus was "acquired in the community and not at the school".

Shameela Shakeel, an active YRDSB parent, said the tweet starting the rumour was "irresponsible", since it’s spurring fear in a climate when anxiety is already heightened.

Shakeel also said "mixed messages" coming from the Ford government are one of the reasons why fear is heightened.

On one hand, the government is saying gatherings for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday should be limited, yet it allows class sizes of upwards of 30 students, she said.

"I know one of my concerns is that a lot of high school students are not physically distancing from each other, so you see them congregating outside,” Shakeel said. "As soon as school is over, they're outside talking to each other without masks on."

Shakeel has formed the Facebook group Families for Safe Schools in York Region, which had at least 2,300 members as of the time this article was published.