A London public school has become the first in the region to be closed this school year due to an ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.
Lord Elgin Public School on Victoria Drive was closed on Wednesday as the number of active cases there ballooned to 11.
The Thames Valley District School Board deemed the closure necessary as the number of infections in several classrooms was posing challenges in operations. Students have been temporarily moved from in-person to virtual learning.
"Teachers are in the process of contacting families with information for virtual learning. Families requiring technology to support students to access virtual learning are asked to contact the school office," the board said in a statement.
An outbreak was originally declared at the school by the Middlesex London Health Unit on Sunday. Since then the case count has been steadily going up with new infections reported almost every day.
A pop-up COVID-19 assessment clinic is being held in the school's gym from 3:30 p.m. to 9 p.m Wednesday.
There are currently three other schools - École élémentaire La Pommeraie, Ekcoe Central, and Wilfrid Jury Public - in the region dealing with outbreaks of the virus. Those schools remain open with only close contacts of the infected individuals being contacted.
The school board plans to reopen Lord Elgin to in-person learning on October 5.