Dad and mom are questioning how an Ottawa elementary faculty can reopen when well being officers could not pinpoint the reason for town’s largest faculty COVID-19 outbreak but.
St. Benedict College in Barrhaven shuttered its doors Sept. 28, the primary of what is now three Ottawa schools closed due to considerations about unfold throughout cohorts.
Shortly earlier than a dad or mum council assembly Thursday night, which included Ottawa Public Well being (OPH) available to reply questions from frightened dad and mom, the board introduced the college would reopen on Tuesday.
The Ottawa Catholic College Board’s affiliate director of schooling and COVID-19 lead informed the assembly an OPH crew might discover no clear issues with the preventative measures the college was taking.
“I’d love to have the ability to … watch that virus and say, you understand, the place precisely did that transmission occur? And we simply do not know,” mentioned Mary Donaghy.
“We most likely heard it 5 or 6 instances that it is simply dangerous luck, it is unlucky,” mentioned Sarah Hackett, who listened into the assembly. “That simply did not make sense to oldsters.”
Her sentiments have been echoed by Claudia Wilson, co-chair of the dad or mum council with two kids who attend the college.
“The truth that we will not discover a trigger, we’re about to open up the college in 4 days time, what’s to forestall this from occurring once more?” she informed CBC.
Donaghy informed dad and mom the board is contemplating some tweaks to its COVID-19 procedures, together with having college students hold their masks on throughout recess even when enjoying with others from their identical cohort, and having dad and mom affirm that they’ve adopted each day COVID-19 screening instruments.
Greater than double the circumstances of earlier high outbreak
As of Thursday, a complete of 37 circumstances have been linked to the outbreak by OPH, all in college students. Beforehand, town’s largest faculty outbreak had 17 whole circumstances.
The board tracks energetic circumstances fairly than whole ones and lists 17 energetic circumstances at St. Benedict.
It is Ottawa’s largest energetic COVID-19 outbreak of any type and whereas completely different well being items and college boards share completely different varieties of information, indicators level to it being one of many largest energetic faculty outbreaks in Ontario.
Justin Peter Milley, one other co-chair of the dad or mum council, mentioned he does not blame anybody for the outbreak however questioned how an investigation might flip up nothing conclusive in regards to the trigger.
“If a airplane crashes, [whether] it is an accident or not, it is analyzed and we have a look at procedures on how one can enhance that and forestall it from occurring once more. So I simply really feel like that is type of being shrugged off,” he mentioned on the assembly.
“As a result of three months from now, I really feel like dad and mom’ frustration goes to maneuver to outrage if this happens once more.”
Ottawa Morning5:55Dad and mom query reopening faculty with Ottawa’s largest COVID-19 outbreak
Justin Peter Milley, father and co-chair of the dad or mum council, has two children who examined optimistic. He is ready for outcomes from checks for the remainder of the household. 5:55
Milley has kids in Grade 1 and senior kindergarten. Each have examined optimistic for the sickness and are asymptomatic, however his two youngest kids — one in every of whom is immunocompromised — have began exhibiting signs.
“It actually comes all the way down to when is it going to have an effect on the remainder of us?” he informed CBC. “It has been what, two weeks now, and it is nonetheless impacting our household in an unknown type of approach.”
Wilson mentioned the council might have a look at taking its personal steps outdoors what the college board can do, comparable to buying fast antigen checks to distribute amongst dad and mom. The province has mentioned that’s not an effective strategy and has given the power for such campaigns to well being items.
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