While students began the first official day of the winter break on Monday, many will be spending the holidays in quarantine.
Late Monday evening, the Thames Valley District School Board reported 34 new COVID-19 cases at 23 public schools. Three of the schools also declared outbreaks relating to the cases.
The cases were identified at:
• A.B. Lucas Secondary School (four cases, outbreak declared) • Byron Somerset Public School • College Avenue Secondary School (two cases) • Emily Carr Public School (three cases, outbreak declared) • Glen Cairn Public School • Hickson Central Public School • Ingersoll District Collegiate Institute • John Dearness Public School (three cases, outbreak declared) • Kensal Park French Immersion Public School • Northdale Central Public School • Northdale Public School • Northridge Public School • Oakridge Secondary School • Pierre Elliott Trudeau French Immersion Public School • Ryerson Public School • Saunders Secondary School • Sir Arthur Currie Public School • Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School (two cases) • Stoney Creek Public School • West Nissouri Public School • Wilberforce Public School (three cases) • Winchester Street Public School • Woodland Heights Public School
All staff and families were immediately notified of the positive cases the school board said and the local health units will follow up with close contacts to provide specific testing advice.
"If you do not receive a letter from Thames Valley indicating the public health unit has identified your child as a close contact, your child is not considered to be at risk," read a release from the TVDSB. "Only those staff and students who have been identified as a close contact will be notified and advised to stay home from school and quarantine for a period of 10 days."
The significant jump in school-related cases follows over 350 cases reported in the London-Middlesex region over the weekend, and according to provincial health officials, the Omicron variant now accounts for at least 83 per cent of all positive cases reported in Ontario on Monday, a jump from 50 per cent on Friday.
No details have been provided by the Ministry of Education yet on whether schools will return for in-person learning or switch to online learning when classes are scheduled to resume again two weeks from now on January 3, 2022.
More details about all active cases at public schools in the London-area can be found online.