Ontario public schools now account for 36 per cent of the province's active COVID-19 cases
Ontario’s publicly-funded school boards are reporting another 88 new cases of COVID-19 today as they continue to account for an increasingly large share of Ontario’s active caseload.
The number of school-related infections has been mostly stable for weeks now but with cases quickly dropping in the broader community schools now make up a bigger share of Ontario’s active cases than they have at any point since the resumption of classes last month.
As of today there are 1,159 active cases associated with public schools, accounting for more than 36 per cent of Ontario’s active caseload.
At this point last week there were 1,255 active cases associated with the school system but that only accounted for 32 per cent of the province’s active caseload. Two weeks ago there were 1,234 active cases, accounting for 28 per cent of Ontario’s active caseload.
The increase in the share of cases associated with public schools comes amid some optimism that Health Canada will soon approve the use of the Pfizer vaccine in children ages five to 11.
During a meeting of Toronto’s Board of Health on Monday, Associate Medical Officer of Health Dr. Vinita Dubey detailed some of the efforts that Toronto Public Health is taking to prepare for the administration of vaccines to that group, which is estimated to include about 200,000 people in the city.
“We are collaborating with our health sector partners to plan for clinics and we are also connecting with school boards, community representatives and the ministry of health to have a really diverse plan to be able to vaccinate this age group,” she said. “The vaccination strategy will be informed based on a needs-based approach and you can see that it will be different from the adult vaccination strategy. For example, schools as a location where vaccines are provided may be more preferable and we are currently working to get more information from parents to find out what are some of their preferred places to receive the vaccine.”
According to the latest data, there are currently 582 schools across Ontario with at least one active case of COVID-19. That number previously peaked at 819 in late September but has been trending downward in recent weeks.
Meanwhile there are only two schools across Ontario that are closed due to COVID-19 outbreaks today following the resumption of in-person learning at Etobicoke’s Greenholme Junior Middle School this morning. That school was previously ordered to close on Oct. 14 after 10 cases were linked to the building.
It should be noted that there are at least 147 individual classroom cohorts in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area that are self-isolating following positive cases in the classroom.
The total number of school-related cases confirmed to date also remains well ahead of where it was at this point in the 2020/2021 academic year – 4,141 compared to 1,770.
However in 2020 the increase in school-related cases accelerated in November as the second wave of the pandemic resulted in a rapid rise in infections in the broader community
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
What's a Barnacle? It's yellow, sticks and screams if you try to pry it off your car
Barnacles, bright yellow devices used to make sure parking scofflaws pay their tickets, could soon be making their way to cities across Canada.
Verdun Airbnb listing taken down amid complaints, fines and frustration from neighbours
An Airbnb in Montreal's Verdun borough was the source of much frustration from neighbours who say there were constant parties at the location. It has been taken down from the app, but housing advocates remain upset about short-term rentals.
Man who set himself on fire outside Trump trial dies of injuries, police say
A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former U.S. President Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said.
They were from different countries and barely spoke each other's languages. More than 20 years later, they're still happily in love
He decided to spend Christmas somewhere that wouldn't involve snowstorm disasters. She was spending the holidays with family, travelling for the first time outside of her native country of Venezuela. 23 years later, they're still in love.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
A Nigerian chess champion plays the royal game for 60 hours - a new global chess record
A Nigerian chess champion and child education advocate played chess nonstop for 60 hours in New York City's Times Square to break the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon.
Fire in Labrador town under control, officials tells residents to stay away
RCMP say the fire that prompted a state of emergency in a Labrador town is now under control.
12 students and teacher killed in Columbine school shooting remembered at 25th anniversary vigil
Thirteen victims of the Columbine High School shooting were remembered during a vigil Friday on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the shooting that was the worst the nation had seen at the time.
Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza city of Rafah kills at least 9 Palestinians, including 6 children
An Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah killed at least nine people, six of them children, hospital authorities said Saturday, as Israel pursued its nearly seven-month offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory.