TORONTO -- A Scarborough elementary school has been shut down and the school will remain closed for the duration of the holiday break due to an outbreak of COVID-19.
In a tweet, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) said Toronto Public Health recommended that all staff and students be “dismissed” at Clairlea Public School, located near St. Clair and Victoria Park avenues.
There are currently six cases of COVID-19 among students at the school but TDSB spokesperson Ryan Bird told CP24 on Tuesday afternoon that whenever Toronto Public Health requests the closure of a school it is more based on “specific characteristics around the cases” than it is the total number of cases.
“Toronto Public Health looks at data like how is it being transmitted? Is it being transmitted in the school? In the community? Then they look at the timelines those cases are developing in and make a decision,” he said.
The TDSB noted that public health officials are continuing to investigate the COVID-19 outbreak at the school.
On Monday, Dr. Eileen de Villa, Toronto’s medical officer of health, said there were 13 schools in the city that have been closed due to outbreaks of the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
Despite calls to extend the winter break for students across the province to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in schools, Ontario’s education minister has so far indicated that he does not believe that step is necessary.
“We really take our lead from the ministry of education and then public health officials on that. Obviously, we would want to hear their best advice based on the data of the day,” Bird said when asked about an extended school closure following the holiday break. “So it is Dec. 15 right now and we will have to see over the upcoming weeks whether things do change and if they decide that we should pivot to more online learning in the weeks after the winter break we can do so.”
