Ottawa Catholic School Board will notify families of positive COVID-19 cases
The Ottawa Catholic School Board says it will still notify families of a positive COVID-19 case in their schools, should they learn of them, despite the Ontario government's move to suspend reporting of cases in classrooms.
In a letter to families, the OCSB said that, starting Wednesday, if the school becomes aware of a positive COVID-19 test result via a rapid antigen or PCR test, families would be notified.
"It is important to note that Principals will not be involved in contact tracing, and they will maintain confidentiality at all times. As a reminder, Ottawa Public Health has advised us that most school contacts are not considered high-risk and only need to self-isolate if they show symptoms," the OCSB said.
Parents and caregivers can voluntarily inform the school if their child has tested positive for COVID-19.
OCSB director of education Tom D'Amico told CTV Morning Live that the move would help parents know what level of COVID-19 may be present in their child's school.
"If someone in their class has told the school that they've tested positive for COVID, we will share that information," he said. "We know the student will no longer in the class, they'll be removed for five days or until their symptoms are gone, so the risk level is gone, but it will help parents be assured about what level of COVID is present in their class."
The school board stresses that all students must undergo daily COVID-19 screening before coming to class and, with testing still limited to select groups in Ontario, it is best to assume that your child has COVID-19 if they are experiencing symptoms and to keep them home.
Schools are set to resume in-person learning this week. It was supposed to start Monday, but a major blizzard kept schools closed for the day.
D'Amico said the board is prepared to welcome students and teachers back to the classroom.
"We've now distributed 201,000 N95 maks for all of our staff," he said. "We received late Friday the rapid antigen tests, so we will have those ready for distribution Tuesday or Wednesday--two tests per student and staff. We're also sending 120,000 three-ply masks to our schools for student use, if parents wish that."
D'Amico said more staff have had booster shots in the last two weeks and their HEPA filters and HVAC systems have been ready since September.
The board is also prepared for teachers who may need to call in sick and isolate due to COVID-19 symptoms.
"We do anticipate that, with the requirement of isolation for five days," he said. "Our principals have a plan in place to start with moving people around within their own school. After that, they have our occasional teachers that they would be calling. We have many retirees that volunteer to come back. We also hired over 350 classroom supervisors. Those tend to be university students who are available to help out to supervise a class. If needed, after all of our mitigation efforts, if we still are still short-staffed for safety reasons, we may have to close a class, a cohort, or possibly a school, but our goal would be to deal with that on an individual basis rather than closing 83 in-person schools."
The board says it remains committed to keeping schools open for in-person learning for the remainder of the school year.
PUBLIC BOARD FOLLOWING MINISTRY GUIDANCE
Ottawa's English language public school board says it will be following guidance from the Ministry of Education to shift to absence-based reporting.
"The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board has been in discussion with Ottawa Public Health about strategies to implement the Ministry-directed absence-based reporting. At this time, we are proceeding with those plans and would like to ensure these reporting requirements are working effectively, prior to considering any additional reporting strategies," a spokesperson said in a statement.
The OCDSB had reported more than 500 COVID-19 cases in its schools prior to the Christmas break.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.